


Saccharine

by KETT



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, M/M, Multi, Parenthood, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-05-15 06:47:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14785520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KETT/pseuds/KETT
Summary: The keyblade war is a distant memory; Sora, Kairi, and Riku live in the sweetest timeline and have each other to love and lean on. Adding another person into the mix seems like a great idea, but there are always bumps on every journey. Sorikai + a baby. Multi-chapter, still a WIP.





	1. Chapter 1

The sunrise at the Land of Departure never failed to impress. The sky bloomed from a murky grey to dazzling blue in a matter of minutes as the orange sun rose from the horizon. Although it was unquestionably beautiful, Kairi was damn tired of seeing it. It was the second week straight she had trouble sleeping; her morning sickness and all associated consequences were threatening to drive her to the brink of madness. As she stared out the window for her eleventh or twelfth consecutive sunrise show (she had lost actual count), her right hand drifted to rest atop her flat stomach. 

 

_ Is there really something in there? _

 

She didn’t look outwardly different yet, which was nice since she still hadn't told anyone her suspicions except for Sora and Riku. But she was certain of it now. Pregnancy was wreaking havoc on her insides and it was only a few months along at the most, probably.  A fresh wave of nausea forced her to refocus her grip on the window sill in front of her, holding herself steady as she tried to coax her stomach into keeping down the small glass of water she had managed earlier. 

 

“Kairi,” Riku’s voice carried from behind her, and she would’ve startled if not for her extreme focus on controlling the bile. “Come lie down." He was unfortunately used to finding her like this. Upon stirring awake he had noticed her absence, then set out to locate her and offer what little comfort he could.

 

“I can’t, it feels worse,” she said with a pitiful smile. And it was true. Gravity was currently on her side, convincing the water to stay down.

 

“The students will be rising soon. Sit with us at least,” he continued, moving to take one of her hands into his own. He even took up the bucket she had grown accustomed to carrying with her, the ‘just in case’ puke receptacle. She had stopped trying to hold onto any shred of pride when it came to that, and allowed Riku to maneuver them back to their shared bedroom. Sora was soundly asleep in their bed. Riku removed his warm, calloused hand from Kairi's and gently shook Sora awake.

 

“Nooo,” Sora softly protested, his mess of hair both stuck to his face and jutting out in all directions. “It’s barely sunrise.”

 

“Make some room for Kairi, she’s not feeling well,” Riku said, coaxing a majority of the pillows away. He wanted to make a comfortable nest that Kairi could lean against and still be upright enough to prevent her from getting sick. Hopefully. Sometimes even all the precautions put in place couldn’t prevent that.

 

Sora obeyed this order, but once Kairi was happily seated in her pillow throne, he rolled over and curled around her legs in further protest of facing the day. Kairi certainly did not object, and tried to distract herself from her nausea by running her hands through Sora’s hair and untangling any knots she found.

 

“Is this normal? To be sick this long?” Riku asked from the other side of her, concern setting well-worn crinkles between his eyebrows. When he made that face, he looked older than his 25 years.

 

“I'm sure it's fine, try not to worry."

 

"I would worry less if we had some guidance.” Riku retorted quickly. "A book or something. Or someone."

 

“I know you are referencing the Queen, and I’m just not ready to tell anyone yet,” Kairi said and sighed. Her eyes closed as nausea crept up on her again, hands automatically on her stomach to try and soothe the gurgling threat. She felt Riku and Sora each place a comforting hand atop her own, and she smiled despite her ill feelings. She was growing close to abandoning the idea of keeping her current state private. The morning sickness had to be something she could treat. Maybe a tea or something...

 

"It's up to you," Riku said, though his disapproval was plain in his tone. He worried too much.

 

“You’re right, it  _ is _ up to me,” Kairi retalited.

 

Sora groaned and rolled away from them. He decided to get up from the bed and avoid  _ that _ discussion again. 

 

“Do you want something? Water?” he asked Kairi and pulled on a shirt. 

 

“Yes, please,” she said, readjusting and then sitting up for a moment. She was not going to fall back asleep, sadly. 

 

Sora nodded and left, and Kairi turned to find Riku getting back under the covers. 

 

“I can’t believe it’s happening,” he said. It was something he had been repeating lately. 

 

“It’s still early,” Kairi reminded him. She didn’t want to get too attached herself at this stage, but something in her wanted to believe this was it. “Too early to feel so unwell, I had wished. Maybe it will not last much longer?” Riku gave an elaborate shrug. “I’m getting tired of staying inside, though!”

 

“And just think, a quick word with Queen Minnie would at least give you a lead towards fixing that.”

 

“Soon,” Kairi promised them both. Her resolve was weakening over time. If she could not figure a way to alleviate her nausea herself, she would give up keeping her condition a secret. She breathed deeply and felt Riku rest the back of his knuckles against her thigh. He was on his stomach and had already closed his eyes. Even though they both teased their husband for napping, Riku was just as much of a sleepyhead. Sora returned then, and distributed a glass of water for each of them.

 

They had a good hour of sleepy exchanges as the sun rose higher in the sky, soon to wake the other inhabitants of their school. The Land of Departure had been restored and further expanded to serve as a base for the training of new Keyblade wielders, just a few years after the destruction of Xehanort. Guardians of the great balance between light and dark were to be restored to the worlds. It was the hope of King Mickey, and those who befriended him, to guide the new generation of protectors down the right path.

 

Kairi, Sora, and Riku were all three Masters of the Keyblade. They were plugged into a system of learning, passed down to them by Yen Sid and Mickey and countless teachings from the library, and they in turn passed what they learned to students alongside their mentors. They were joined by Master Aqua and Terra as well, though the latter had yet to use a Keyblade in recent memory. Ventus was a frequent visitor, as was Lea. Those two were more attracted to travelling, often together; a trial by fire as they honed their fighting skills in preparation of becoming Masters themselves. Not that either of them seemed to be in a rush to settle down.

 

It was difficult to adjust to the responsibilities of becoming a Keyblade Master, especially for Sora. He had spent so many years travelling both before and after the end of Xehanort, Donald and Goofy his constant companions. Eradicating minor threats to world order, searching for new Keyblade wielders along the way, and seeing as much of the worlds as he could had been his dream. Exciting as that had been, he quickly found that there was nothing else in the worlds that gave him his heart's content more than Kairi and Riku. Sure he still went on missions, as did they all. Even together, when they could. The past couple of years were still the most settled he had been since the age of fourteen, and it had taken some getting used to. 

 

Now things had fallen into comfortable routine. They had learned to let their guards down and enjoy the peace they had won, and each passing year served to lessen the fears that big trouble was just around the corner. Hyper-vigilance was a thing of the past.

 

“I think it’s a good time,” Kairi had said months ago, in the privacy of their own chambers. It was not the first time she had talked about having children with Sora and Riku, but she was the first to bring it up this time. “The school here is running smoothly, and we are all mostly in the same place. Things are peaceful, now.” At least, she felt at peace. It hadn’t truly been that long since those days of war and panic.

 

“I agree that now would be a good time,” Riku replied, though he attempted to tread lightly. “if we are to do this at all.”

 

“You’re unsure?” Kairi asked.

 

“Of course I have reservations, it’s a dangerous world out there!” said Riku.

 

“People have been having babies since forever, Riku,” Sora chimed in from his spot against the wall. He approached the idea of parenthood fearlessly, as he did with all things. “There’s never going to be a ‘perfect’ situation to have a baby.”

 

“I know we can’t plan every detail, and we cannot jump in blindly either.” Kairi said. “We had said before that we wanted to wait until we were more settled, and now we are.”

 

“We are,” Riku echoed in agreement. He shifted his pose at the foot of their bed, to buy himself some time while he thought through the proposal. “So you’re saying you’re ready, now.”

 

“I’m thinking yeah, I am," Kairi replied. "But only if you both are as well, naturally."

 

"I think it's a good time," said Sora.

 

"And we're all still in agreement, the baby will be yours and Kairi's," Riku said in Sora's direction.

 

"If you still really want it that way, Riiks. I still think it would be a cool surprise to just carry on as normal and see what happens," Sora replied.

 

"It's the one thing he wants," Kairi interjected, earning a nod from Riku. They had gone through that conversation already. Riku had said the worlds could use a little more Sora than himself out there, and besides, those two were supposed to represent the next generation if the King and Queen ever retired. Riku always preferred to work from the shadows. "As far as I'm concerned, it will be all of our baby no matter what. If this arrangement would make you happiest, Riku, I'm for it."

 

"Yes, thank you," Riku replied. Sora shrugged to indicate it didn’t really bother him one way or the other. Having a baby at all was exciting enough, and like Kairi said, it would be  _ all _ of their baby no matter whose DNA the kid had.

 

“So, is that a yes?” Kairi had asked, looking between the two with a hopeful smile.

 

“Yes,” Sora agreed quickly. Not that she had thought he would need any convincing; he was always ready to try anything, especially when it came to their relationship and family.

 

“Can we just sleep on it at least?” asked Riku. “You’re right Kairi, this would be a good time. It’s just such a big decision...”

 

“We could at least start trying,” Kairi posed, attempting to act super casual despite the feeling of elation creeping over her. “It probably won’t happen for some time yet.”

 

“I like the sounds of that,” Sora said through a wicked smirk. 

 

“You’ll be pulling double duty, keeping us both happy,” Riku said, smirking at Sora. That feeling of being on the edge of something exciting was affecting him as well, and where he may have normally scolded Sora’s lewdness, he was instead infected with contagious glee.

 

"It's okay! I'm used to dual wielding."

 

"Oh come on you two." Kairi then rose from the bed only to reseat herself closer to where Riku was. "Just because you and I won't have sex for a short while doesn't mean we won't do other things, Riku."

 

“That’s right,” Sora said and advanced on his lovers, one of whom was starting to flush across his face to the tips of his ears. “You’ll be right there every time we ‘try,’ and I don’t mean watching either.”

 

“I-I know that!” Riku stammered.

 

“We could try right now,” Sora continued, relentless. 

 

“I thought we were going to sleep on it,” Riku said in his defense, though he made no movement to shut down Sora’s advances.

 

“We are. But let’s practice anyway,” said Kairi, giddy at that point. She kissed Riku deeply, and gave no resistance when Sora pushed them both back to lie on the bed, climbing over them in a mess of limbs and want. 

 

Those days had been exciting. They had all agreed to pursue the pregnancy, and a new spark was brought into their sex life after the 7 or so years of being together. Their united purpose of getting Kairi pregnant was an excellent excuse for an increase of time spent together, privately, which was always a blessing amidst the chaos of running the school and responding to missions. It was like a game, to find time when all three of them could be together even in the middle of a day or right before a meeting with visiting friends or royalty. At one point Riku was asked to leave on a short mission with the King, and upon his return was touched to find out that his lovers had kept to their promise of having all three of them present when they tried for a baby. Not even the disappointment of a fruitless two months deterred them.

 

Now, Kairi could barely handle upright motility, let alone sex of any kind. The boys remained close to her, intimate in other ways, but she was acutely nostalgic for the baby  _ making _ part of this journey and less fond of the baby  _ growing _ side of things. Then again almost anything would have been better than two straight weeks of morning sickness. She hoped that this one stuck, as she was loathe to try this again should the pregnancy not work out. She was growing bored with her lonely hours in bed as well, and so had plenty of time to think over her plans and hopes for the future. First was to get something for this nausea. Nothing else could happen until she felt well again.

 

And then... Well, Kairi was a mix of emotions. Mostly positive, curiosity and excitement at the foreground. She already provided as surrogate caregiver to the students here, and being one of only two female Masters had been a crash course in exercising motherly instinct. Wanting to have a child of their own with Riku and Sora had been an itch growing for years now, but she had attempted to refocus that into caring for the ragamuffin squad of orphans and waifs already under her care at the Land of Departure. It had worked, certainly. She had wonderful relationships with the students. If anything, it had cemented her desire for motherhood even further, rather than quench it...

 

Not to mention she knew her husbands would make incredible fathers. They had already proven this over and over through their own work at the school.

 

Sora and Riku had already taken off for breakfast, and by now were likely running a few drills for morning practice with students in the front grounds of the building. That meant most of the students should be cleared out of the kitchen, and so it was safe to teeter in that direction with the mind to brew some strong peppermint tea. The thought of something aside from water made her queasy, but she powered through the nausea and forced her legs to carry her to the kitchens. She needed to attempt to stay hydrated in the very least. 

 

Everyone, students included, pitched in to keep the large castle and grounds in order. It was a wonderful thing to have an endless list of chores to assign to help prevent wandering minds as well as instill a sense of responsibility in the new Keyblade wielders. Yet on Kairi’s seemingly endless trek from her quarters to the kitchen, she noticed that a few things had fallen to the wayside. She would have to ask Riku to assign some of her wards to taking care of the dusting and window cleaning in this area, she thought. Perhaps Rosa, a tall young woman from Aurora’s home world, would be able to lend a hand. Kairi was so distracted by her thoughts that she did not notice she had company until the doors to the kitchen were opened before her. 

 

“Oh! Aqua, you startled me,” Kairi said breathlessly, accepting her mentor’s kindness and passing through into the kitchen. “I was really spaced out, thinking about  _ very _ important things like window washing.”

 

“I could see that,” Aqua said with a fond smile. The dining area looked well tidied after breakfast at least, and she followed Kairi to the stove. “You’re still unwell?”

 

“What? Oh, yes. Unfortunately,” Kairi said, avoiding eye contact and busying herself with setting the kettle. She also took out a large tea pot before rummaging through a cabinet for the teas she wanted. Being in the warm kitchen, aromas leftover from breakfast, and the company of her mentor woke the barest of appetites in her. It was a welcomed relief. The silence between them however was not. Aqua was too intuitive, damn her. “Did you miss breakfast? Are you well?” Kairi asked to try and change the subject to anything that was not her own ‘illness.’

 

“I am well, but I fear Terra is having a difficult day,” Aqua responded, a hint of sadness visible behind her eyes. Not that she ever complained about such things, but it had not been easy for her since Terra’s return. Her relief of having him alive eclipsed the physical and emotional struggles he now faced, but as years passed the difficulties took a certain toll on her as well. It was still astounding that she had survived so many years alone in the realm of darkness, a tribute to her magnanimous fortitude. And now she both led the school and cared for him. Somehow her light shone brighter than anyone else’s. “I thought some tea and porridge would do him some good, and a day of meditation as well. What are you brewing?”

 

“Just peppermint,” Kairi said, having finally found  the said dried leaves from the cupboard. 

 

“Hm, maybe something a little more uplifting for him. Green or ginseng,” Aqua mused aloud as she took Kairi’s place at the cupboard while the younger woman moved to prepare her tea pot. She took down mugs for all three of them. “I’m… You are not usually one to be ill like this, Kairi. Should I be worried?”

 

“No,” was Kairi’s kneejerk reaction, though the pang of guilt hit her pretty hard then. She knew Aqua was only looking out for her, and that it was totally normal to wonder why someone was ill for almost two weeks straight. But the way Aqua said it, so gently and non intruding, made her feel sorry for keeping anything from her mentor. She looked up at the other woman and found knowing blue eyes outlined by the slightest of wrinkles reminding her that the space between the two of them was safe. “I’m just… not sure,” she started, weakly. It probably would feel good to share with Aqua of all people, as she respected the privacy between them as if they were family. And in a way, they really were. Riku’s inevitable ‘I told you so’ floated across her mind like a pesky gnat. 

 

“Not sure?” Aqua asked. Her patience was unending.

 

“Not sure if I’m just… I think I’m pregnant,” Kairi finally said, though she looked down as she did so. Saying it to someone who was not Sora or Riku was like overcoming a hurdle for her, and it made the reality of their choice to have a child that much more real. It was reminiscent of her telling Aqua that she was in a relationship with Sora AND Riku; anxiety mixed with relief to form a heavy lump in her throat that went up and down with every breath. Aqua had quickly grown supportive of their ‘unique’ relationship, she remembered with fondness.

 

“I’m almost certain you are,” Aqua said with a knowing smile. When Kairi gave her an exasperated look, she quickly explained: “I can sense something different in the light you give off from your heart. I wasn’t sure what it could be, until you mentioned a potential pregnancy. Your energy is being used to support the new life.”

 

"That would explain a lot," Kairi said through a pained grin. Truth was, it felt as if the little blob of cells was all but sucking the life force from her. "Oh but Aqua, please don't tell anyone?"

 

"And whom would I tell?"

 

"Terra? Minnie? I don't know," Kairi said and rubbed at her stomach. A disgusting belch bubbled up into the back of her throat. She couldn't wait to get the taste of mint from her tea, and set the stove even higher to hopefully speed up the kettle. "I just want to be sure this is it before others know and start making a fuss."

 

"I understand, Kai. Oh, but do Riku and Sora... Wait, of course they know," Aqua answered her own question, pulling out some tea bags for herself and Terra. “I don’t see the harm in telling Terra. He loves you like a sister.”

 

“I know, and I don’t want that to change!” Kairi said just as the kettle began to whistle. “I don’t want anyone to treat me at all differently, but I know they will. Even you.” She smiled despite her words, and began to pour water for Aqua and Terra’s mugs, and then her own teapot. 

 

“It’s likely, yes,” Aqua agreed while busying herself with getting a serving of leftover porridge into a bowl. “The only thing we can count on is change. You’re changing your path right now.”

 

“I’m already nostalgic,” Kairi said with a nervous laugh. Aqua’s words were deep if she thought about it. Too deep.

 

“Are you really unwell? It feels as if the last time we spoke was four or five days ago.”

 

“I’m badly nauseous, but I can handle it,” Kairi said. “It’s difficult to be around others, I keep puking.”

 

“And here I was going to suggest you eat with Terra and me.”

 

"Oh..." Kairi considered it while they prepared what was left of breakfast onto a couple of trays. She felt as though some company was sorely needed, and so agreed to follow Aqua back to the rooms she shared with Terra despite a nagging fear that she would vomit in front of them.

 

Kairi did notice how Aqua made an effort to keep their conversation to menial daily things, instead of pressing more about the pregnancy. It was well appreciated. 

 

“Another sleepyhead missed breakfast,” Aqua announced as the two entered the chambers. They found Terra standing by the window, watching over the morning routines. The room was nearly identical to the one Kairi shared with Riku and Sora.

 

“Good morning, Master Kairi,” he said with a grin. 

 

“At ease, Terra,” she responded with mock consternation. "Are you well enough for company?"

 

"Yes, please come and sit," he said and shuffled over to remove some books from the only table in the room. Even though he was only in his late thirties, on days like this his stiff movements matched his silver hair to give the air of a person much older. Once they were all comfortable, he thanked Aqua profusely for her kindness and knack for feeding him just what he needed. The warm food and drink were comforting. If he noticed Kairi had barely touched her toast, he was either polite enough to not bring it up or chalked it up to her recent bout of illness.

 

Kairi did find the light conversation a good distraction from her nausea for a time, and it was far less boring than staring at the walls of her own room. She braved a slice of toast, and managed to politely excuse herself just in time to reject it. After that it was a forced nap, as in she sat down on her bed and promptly passed out from utter exhaustion. 

 

When she woke, Aqua was placing a few things onto the table in her room as quietly as possible, with Sora hurrying to put away the scattered knick knacks that usually cluttered the space. Keychains, discarded clothes, and a few empty glasses were relocated to the window sill to make room for a few bottles of questionably coloured liquid and a hot bowl of broth.

 

“You’re awake!” Sora said and dropped a handful of belongings at the foot of the bed in favour of sitting by Kairi’s side. He smelled of grass and sweat. “How are you?”

 

“Hi dear, I'm fine,” was her automatic answer as she rose further from the groggy stupor of sleep. 

 

“You missed lunch,” Aqua provided. “Look, Kairi. Drink this to help with nausea, it’s an herbal remedy.” She pointed to a green-ish looking bottle. “And if you manage to get some food in you, you can try this one as well, to aid digestion.” This time she indicated a dark brown, unpleasant looking bottle. “There are also a few bottles of the tea we use to aid with our cycles, the red raspberry leaf and fennel combination. It’s good for pregnancy as well.”

 

Sora’s head ducked a little lower. “I didn’t say anything!” he said in earnest. 

 

“I know, Sora,” Kairi said. She pat his hand reassuringly. “I told her, this morning.”

 

“And I’m trying to not make a fuss, and failing,” Aqua said with a laugh, gesturing to the collection of foodstuffs she had brought. “I hope to see you well soon, Kairi. As do the students.”

 

“They  _ have _ been asking after you,” Sora added.

 

“Well then I better try this green concoction and get to it, right?” Kairi said, trying her best to appreciate the kind gestures. Being coddled still struck a nerve deep within her, reminiscent of her first forays in Keyblade training. Before she could get up, Aqua brought the bottle over and gave it to her. It was pleasantly cool and didn’t smell all that bad, but taking small sips was all she could manage. “Thank you, Aqua.”

 

“Of course,” Aqua replied, saying her goodbyes and bowing out. 

 

Sora took the bottle from Kairi’s hands to give it a good whiff, and made a mildly disgusted look before passing it back to its owner. “It must have oregano in it. I hate oregano!”

 

“Good thing you don’t have to drink it then, silly.” Kairi’s tone was fond, and she dutifully continued to sip at her remedy. A few more moments of comfortable silence passed between them, and Sora rubbed at her belly a bit before leaning to rest his head in her lap.

 

“Long morning,” Sora said.

 

“Mmm?”

 

“Yeah, just busy. I was doing the usual morning routine with the group but this bitter rivalry between Tali and Lili is still getting in the way of practice.”

 

“Such a shame, with Lili going back to her home soon,” Kairi said, thinking of Mulan and Shang’s scrappy daughter, full name Li Ming. Mushu followed that girl around as if she were his own child, but his quick tongue and tendency to inflate Lili’s ego got them into trouble with the other students from time to time. Not to mention Lili’s skills in combat made her a target for other students’ envy; at the age of nine, she was the youngest of the students. Her skills rivalled those of much older wielders, but her maturity was on point with her years.

 

“Riku was planning to talk to them both just now,” said Sora.

 

“So that’s what he’s up to.”

 

“He’s way better at that stuff than I am. He’s understanding, but firm. Like a real dad already! I’m more like, stop flippin’ fighting over nothing! Can’t you see you’re on the same side!?” Sora hugged her legs, which made her laugh a bit. 

 

“Oh Sora, they look up to you. You lead by example, and make friends with everyone,” Kairi said and stroked Sora’s hair. “You’re going to be a great dad too.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Absolutely. I would not elect to suffer through this if I didn’t think we would all be good parents, so you know.” Kairi paused, and then looked at the bottle she still held in her hands. “Though this drink does seem to be helping with the nausea.”

 

Sora blew a raspberry into her belly, which drew a genuine fit of laughter from his victim. “I’ve been waiting till you felt better to do that! I hope the baby felt it.”

 

“I’m sure they did, you goof,” Kairi said fondly, but ruffled his hair to distract and prevent him from doing it again. Even though it was much shorter and more orderly than it had been in his teenage years, it was still easy to muss and tangle. 

 

“Hey, are you feeling well enough to walk the grounds with me? Gotta check on everyone while Riku is occupied with teenage conflict resolution.” Sora sat up after one last kiss to Kairi’s belly. Then, he kissed her lips… as if she needed convincing to go with him. She knew he didn't really need to check on anyone, but the idea of taking a walk with him was enticing so she was happy to play along. Kairi took a few more sips of the green liquid and accepted Sora’s hand up off the bed to tackle the broth. It felt so good to have something warm in her, and even better to  _ not _ feel like she would immediately throw it back up.

 

The walk was a welcomed break from being in bed. The afternoons usually found Kairi feeling a bit better anyway, and whatever Aqua had put into that drink was helping. She was still mildly nauseous, but the feeling wasn't so awful as to make her feel like she could vomit at any given second. Progress! She even asked for them to stop at the kitchen, where she filched a day-old roll to nibble at as they continued outside for fresh air. 

 

In the years since revitalizing the Land of Departure back from the haunted castle it had been, Aqua had worked hard alongside her comrades and Yen Sid to restore and expand the inside and out to house as many people who wished to live or train there. It was what her own Master would have wanted, she said, to continue to serve the next generation of Keyblade wielders in his stead. Aqua and Terra did not speak about Master Eraquis often; it seemed painful for them. Yet a wonderful garden had been started in his memory, and it additionally provided a serene place to meditate. Not to mention it gave any Master or student the chance to break a sweat while gardening - something about doing that type of labour was meditative in of itself!

 

It was here that Sora and Kairi spied Terra, watching over twin boys weeding a small rock garden. Kahili and Kaholo had been brought to the Land of Departure by the creature named Stitch, after the Keyblade had chosen them both as suitable wielders at the young age of 12. Now fourteen, they were a handful of restless energy who were always first to volunteer to shadow missions. They came from a large family with many siblings, and were driven to explore and break away from anything deemed boring or normal. It had been Terra’s mission to teach them patience and the fine art of thinking before acting. So far, it had only sunken in on a skin-deep level.

 

“Ho, Terra!” Sora called out as they passed by. 

 

Terra waved, leaning heavily on his staff but smiling nonetheless. A pleased look seemed to pass between him and Kairi; each was happy to see the other out and about. 

 

“Did you tell Terra too?” Sora whispered to Kairi as they carried on.

 

“Not yet,” Kairi replied. “But we should, I think. Now that Aqua knows.”

 

“Was it weird telling her? How did it go?” Sora asked with genuine curiosity as they reached a stone staircase that would lead them back to the front landing of the castle. They held on tightly to each other as they ascended.

 

Kairi thought for a moment before answering. “It was a relief to say it, even though a nagging part of me still wishes to keep this between us three until I’m farther along. She said something, about me changing my path by choosing to have a baby and it made me feel nervous.”

 

“Nervous?” Sora’s squeezed her hand in an attempt to be reassuring. 

 

“I don’t know, just a vague sense of doom that comes with making an irreversible decision like this? Second-guessing myself… not that it’s her fault, I’ve had these thoughts before just usually found them easy to move past.”

 

“Oh, you did? How did you do that? Move past them, I mean.” Sora prompted her further.

 

“I… I’m not…” Kairi had to think about that for a second. Some of it was automatic for sure. She looked down at her physical connection to Sora, their clasped hands. “I think, when I think about us all having made this choice together, it’s less scary. You and Riku are with me.” She nodded and looked back up to him. He was giving her one of his dazzling smiles that could light up a room. It certainly lit up her heart. Something that felt like gas squelched inside of her as well, and she quickly put a hand atop her belly to try and soothe whatever that was. 

 

“Are you gonna puke again? Here, lean on me,” Sora said, his free hand moving to grip her opposite elbow.

 

“No, I’m fine,” she replied with a laugh, endeared that he was unquestionably available for her, even if she were to do something gross like puke on his shoes. It further cemented her ability to trust the decision they had all made together. "Thank you, Sora."

 

"You're welcome?" Sora said, somewhat taken aback by her sudden sincerity. 

 

"Oi! Lovebirds!" Riku's voice called from the door to the castle, embarrassingly loud. "Come in for tea! Tell Terra and the boys as well."

 

"Will do!" Sora called back with just the slightest hint of pink on his cheeks. He kissed Kairi before sighing and heading back down the stairs to call the others.

 

Kairi made her way inside, taking Riku's arm and leading him back to the kitchens. Her appetite was waking.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The basic takeaway is that Riku is always the little spoon.

It was late afternoon, and the days had grown cooler. A sharp ting of Keyblades colliding rang across the field along with thin clouds of dust kicked up in the struggle. No matter how low the temperature dropped, all sparring was still done outside. For the students currently fighting, their movements were certainly enough to keep them warm. The rest of the observers, Masters included, huddled in thick layers and did their best to warm up in the sun.

 

“Lysias! Keep your left arm closer to your body!” Kairi called out from her spot next to Riku. The golden-haired youth immediately tucked in, narrowly avoiding what would have been a punishing blow from Rosa. His foe was light on her feet and dangerously quick. She was of an age and height with Lysias, and the two were often asked to use each other as sparring partners for this reason. 

 

“He always holds it so far out, like he’s walking a tightrope,” Riku said privately to Kairi as they continued to watch the sparring. The Masters did their best to not intervene too much during the actual fight, yet a few shouts of encouragement or reminders were difficult to bite back at all times. 

 

Riku watched Lysias with pride. The youngster had been under the care of the Keyblade Masters for three years now, and had been training with the Keyblade for roughly two of them. Now 18 and an adult in all ways, he had grown well since first being pushed onto Riku by good ol’ Phil of the legendary Colosseum. Lysias had gone through some basic training with the satyr before being denounced as “a waste of time” and doomed to the custodial duties that befitted an orphan with nowhere else to go. It wasn’t that he was bad with the sword; far from it. His attitude “stunk,” and he “couldn’t take direction to save his life” in Phil’s words. Riku suspected that Phil’s style of teaching just didn’t jive well with the youth, and though they had had a bumpy start at first, Lysias wound up earning his Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony - the only person Riku had ever given it to before and since.

 

Suddenly, the match was over. Rosa had cast an icy magic spell behind Lysias, causing him to slip and wind up on the business end of Rosa’s own Keyblade. 

 

“That wasn’t fair, Rosie,” Lysias bemoaned even as he accepted a hand up from the victor.

 

“Do not count on your enemies fighting fair either, Lyssie,” she quipped, but could not hide the happiness in her eyes. She loved to win, and could be counted to employ any means necessary to secure that victory. 

 

“She’s correct,” Kairi cut in, speaking up so even the attending students on the other side of the fighters could hear. “Cheating can sour the victory, however.”

 

“Master Kairi, I did not cheat,” Rosa replied, cool as always. 

 

“No spells were to be used on each other in this fight.” Riku reminded them.

 

“I didn’t use the spell on him, I used it on the ground,” Rosa persisted. 

 

“It’s not fighting fair Rosie, and you know it.” Lysias cut in. “Not that it wasn’t brilliant!"

 

"Okay you two, at ease," Riku said with a sigh. He would have to be clearer about the rules from now on thanks to his conniving students. 

 

Kairi called for the other students, who had observed from the opposite side of the designated sparring circle, to provide constructive criticism or learnings from the match before calling up the next pair… and being quite clear that no magic was to be used at all.

 

"I miss fighting," Kairi said to Riku once the next battle was underway. Her hand reflexively cradled the tiny bump of her stomach, still prominent even through the thick, large sweater she had stolen from Sora.

 

"Imagining you fighting while pregnant does bad things for my nerves," Riku replied in a low voice. 

 

"Don't work yourself up dear, I don't miss it enough to actually do something foolish." Kairi patted his arm, but what she really wanted to do was cozy up to him. She refrained from nearly anything as affectionate as that outside of private time. The desire for closeness had increased as her belly swelled.

 

"You'll be back at it before you know it. Time is passing quickly," Riku said. "You're already six months along, and I sometimes still can't believe this is happening."

 

"I know, and at the same time the due date feels so far away..."

 

“I feel for you. It hasn’t been easy, and this is one thing Sora and I can’t exactly help you with.”

 

“You help in other ways, Riku. Let me take pride in being the awesome baby-grower.”

 

“You are very, unquestionably awesome,” Riku said with a fond smile.

 

They watched the students a while longer in companionable silence, each longing to hug the other. 

 

\------

 

Aqua watched Terra over the rim of her tea cup as he turned down the bed for the night. She was personally a bit wired from the day's activities, as well as the good news they had received earlier that week. Ventus was coming for a visit, and he may arrive as soon as two days from now.

 

Even though she had seen Terra change countless times, Aqua unabashedly watched as he removed his day clothes and stretched a bit. He had experienced more good days than bad, recently. Despite not training with a Keyblade, he kept to a disciplined regimen as well as circumstance allowed. As if he would always be ready to take up arms again should there be a need.

 

"I can't wait to see Ven," Terra said, snapping her from her reverie.

 

"Me too," she replied with fondness. "It's been far too long, this time. I wish he would visit more often."

 

"He seems to be making up for lost time, adventuring out there," Terra said, shaking out a plain sleep shirt before putting it on. He seemed content as he climbed into the bed, remaining seated. It was then that a tiny pinch of his brows was visible. "To see him so full of youth and energy..."

 

"Please, Terra. Don't start, you'll make me feel elderly!"

 

"And who was running ahead of the trainees today, so light on her feet that no one could catch up to her? No one I would describe as elderly."

 

Aqua smiled at that, internally proud that her skills had only grown over time. She had finished with her tea and left the cup on the table in favour of turning out the lights and climbing into bed next to her partner. Unlike he who was a furnace and still slept in light clothes at this time of year, she opted for warm leggings and a loose top to sleep in.

 

“I’m still not used to the gap between us, even though it was worse when we first reunited,” Terra continued, a hand subconsciously pushing back the silver-white locks he had ‘earned’ through the possession of his body. 

 

“He seemed of age with Sora and the others,” Aqua said, remembering as well the experience of seeing Ventus again for the first time, as if he had not aged a day.

 

“You seemed to have not aged either.”

 

“Flatterer!”

 

“Honest!” Terra persisted. “Even now I would not think time has had a say with you except for how much your hair has grown.” He couldn’t help but reach towards her, and she let him bring some of her loose blue waves in front of her shoulder. “And then there is me, crippled from the inside thanks to the ‘care’ my body received while I was not in control. White hair and shaky hands are a just reward for my mistakes, I think.”

 

“Terra…”

 

“No, it’s alright. I’m growing more fond of our life now than I thought was possible. I would shoulder the struggles for all three of us, gladly, to have the chance to see it all made right.” He looked to her, still acutely aware of the pain that dwelled inside them both. “I wish I could take yours too. If someone who hurt you even has the right to say that.”

 

"I can understand your wish, but transferring the pain from one of us to the other is not the healing I want," she replied. 

 

"What  _ do _ you want?"

 

"This." Aqua took his hand in hers, tenderly pulling them closer. "You and Ven, alive. Myself as leader of this school. Peace. The next generation alive and well and having a baby..."

 

"All things you already have."

 

"Exactly. Though maybe there is something you could help me with..."

 

"If you think I could help, I would try,” Terra said in earnest.

 

"Help me ask Ventus to stay when he visits?”

 

Terra looked surprised at first, but when he gave it a second thought he supposed it wasn’t that surprising. He did miss Ven as well. “Do you think he will need convincing?”

 

“I think he would want to stay if we asked, but the problem is I feel terrible asking him. If he wanted to be around here, shouldn’t the idea come from him?”

 

“I see nothing wrong with letting him know he is wanted here,” Terra answered.

 

"I miss him," Aqua said, squeezing Terra's hand as a way to solace herself. "Especially now that the island Masters will be leaving us for a time when their baby comes, I feel like I'll miss him worse without them distracting me."

 

They had sunk lower in the sheets as they talked, legs tangling and closing any distance that had remained between them. It was comfortable, like this. 

 

“Let’s ask him together.”

 

\-----------

 

Kairi sat at the edge of the bed, twisting her sweaty hair over her right shoulder to form a braid. She was warm and a little sore, but pleasantly satiated. Riku was watching her from a supine pose nearby. His bare chest was still pumping fast, with Sora having just finished him off moments before. She stared back at his pink cheeks and swollen lips, until he looked away, embarrassed. Sora laughed lightly and hugged Riku's head. Even after all these years Riku would come down from the rush of orgasm and feel a bit overwhelmed by their level of intimacy. It remained endearing to her and Sora.

 

"I'd like a bath," Kairi said, rising. "It must still be early on in the evening."

 

"Yeah, you couldn't wait to rip our clothes off after dinner, I'm not surprised," Sora teased, and he delighted in earning a bashful smile from his victim. 

 

"W-well! You didn't seem to mind!" Kairi tried to hide her embarrassment by rising and padding over the the washroom, naked as the day she was born. He was right, too. Her libido had spiked incredibly for the past week, and it served as a mild annoyance during her day to day tasks. Yet once night fell and she retired to her quarters with Sora and Riku, she was quick to instigate sex and relieve her built up frustrations. 

 

Sora sat up as Kairi walked away, admiring her pink bottom before it disappeared into the washroom that was attached to their bedroom. Riku was still curled around his naked waist, and Sora stuck his hand into disheveled silver locks, pushing them up and away from his husband's face. 

 

"You could use a bath too," Sora said, his smile nearly audible in his tone. Riku chortled and made no attempt to move. In fact, he may have tightened his grip around Sora’s waist. The only light now was from the bathroom, and it allowed Sora to see the mess they had made of the bed. Yikes. “Go rinse off and I’ll change the sheets, that’s a good compromise.”

 

“Mmmm… fine,” Riku said and reluctantly removed himself from their huddled embrace. Sleeping in wet sheets was not his idea of a good time, no matter how tired he was.

 

Sora tumbled after him, his energy a sharp contrast to Riku’s spent demeanor. He wasted no time in pulling off the soiled bed clothes to replace them with fresh linens, though they were the last clean set available. Laundry would have to happen soon. Tomorrow, probably, seeing as they were making a ridiculous mess almost nightly. As he leaned over to push a fitted sheet over the corners of the mattress, he caught Riku dawdling by the threshold to the bathroom, eyes on Sora.

 

“Go on, I’m almost done.”

 

“I don’t normally feel this way, but I’m…” Riku sighed. 

 

“Riku?”

 

“Nothing, nothing. I’m just tired,” Riku said and finally turned into the bathroom. 

 

Sora was finished with his task, so hurried in to follow. “What’s wrong?”

 

“What?” Kairi said from the tub, eyes flitting open to rest on her newly entered companions. 

 

“I was asking Riku,” Sora said.

 

“Mmm? What’s wrong with Riku?”

 

“Nothing’s wrong with me, honest,” Riku said as he pulled his towel off the back of the door. “I’m just… really aware that we are having a baby soon.”

 

“We are!?” Kairi exclaimed, sitting up and holding her belly. “I thought I was just storing up for the winter!”

 

“Haw-haw.” Riku rolled his eyes, in comparison to Sora who had to suppress a laugh. “Your little beer gut wasn’t even noticeable until a few weeks ago. Now it’s. It’s very there.”

 

“Beer gut! I am so calling it that from now on, way cooler than ‘baby bump,’” said Sora. He walked over to the tub and stepped in, wading to the side Kairi was leaning against and sitting on the lip of the tub. Kairi leaned against his legs now, and his hands naturally fell to her shoulders.

 

“I’ll allow it if you rub my neck,” Kairi said. Sora obliged.

 

“It’s so real, now, is what I’m saying,” Riku continued. He turned on the shower, waiting for it to warm up. “I just hope we are making the right choice, adding a baby to an already… unconventional situation.”

 

“Too late now,” Sora quipped.

 

“Sora, that’s unhelpful,” Kairi said. She watched Riku disappear behind the fogged glass of the shower adjacent to the bathtub, then craned her neck so she could mouth ‘be nice’ to her scamp of a husband. “We talked about this before, remember? How the baby is going to have three loving parents and plenty of aunts and uncles who aren’t going to make an issue out of their ‘unconventional’ parents?” 

 

“Yeah, but I presume our baby will be born with eyes?” Riku called loudly over the spray of the shower. “He’ll be able to see we’re different.”

 

“What are you worried about, exactly?” Kairi retaliated, but trained her tone into one of kindness and curiosity.

 

There was silence for a short time. Even Sora’s hands paused in their work, lest he miss out on Riku’s answer.

 

“That he will hate us,” came the eventual reply, almost too soft to be heard. “Hate us for being different, and forcing him to be different too.”

 

“You know, I was thinking about that the other day,” Sora started, though he received a warning glare from Kairi.  _ Be serious, just this once!  _ “There are so many worlds out there, we could never visit them all. What if there is a world where being with two people is normal? What if there are a bunch? When you think about it, there are so many different people out there that there’s really no such thing as normal. That’s what I think, anyway.”

 

“That’s… oddly comforting,” Riku ceded with a big sigh. “Not that the baby will know that, he will only see the people we are around now."

 

"All of whom will love and accept the baby, as they love and accept us," Kairi said. 

 

“...I don’t usually feel this way,” Riku repeated himself. He finished in the shower and turned off the water. 

 

“Riku, man. You think you’ve just got the jitters?” Sora asked. “First time dad stuff? I mean, yesterday for example, I kept worrying about the pathways of light we use to get back home and felt certain the experience would harm Kairi and the baby. It would pop into my mind and I would get all panicked and forget to breathe for a second.”

 

“I was worrying about the first time the kid will yell ‘I hate you mom!’ into my face, and how we have to teach them to swim right away because I don’t want them to drown by accident.” Kairi added this, realizing as she spoke that it actually felt good to commiserate. 

 

Riku hummed in non-verbal acknowledgement, patting himself dry before walking out of the shower stall. His brows were still pointing his face into a miniature frown. The starts of wrinkles were forming thanks to his constant background anxiety. He was the cautious one, the over-analyzer and overprotective part of their circle. Quick to sense danger and act, sensitive to the slightest disturbances. It made him a great fighter and team mate. On the other side of the coin, he could often feel like a worry wart when compared to his two soulmates. 

"Probably the jitters," he conceded. Riku took a breath and tried to relax. In the very least, it was comforting to know Sora and Kairi also experienced less than rational worries. 

 

"I love you. You're so worried and caring about the babe already," Kairi said from the bath. Her cheek was resting against Sora's knee.

 

"I love you both for putting up with me," Riku replied, somewhat soothed for the time being. "But I’d love you more if someone would help me trim my hair."

 

Kairi pouted, loathe to leave the warmth of the bath. So Sora got up and stepped out of the tub, even though he hadn't even a chance to wash himself yet. Riku handed him a comb and some scissors before pulling his hair up into a wet bun, revealing the cropped cut underneath. His hair was a darker grey-blue when it was so close to his skull. So thick. He led Sora back into the shower stall, as it was the easiest place to tidy up the trimmings.

 

"You know, I get the most nervous when people ask me questions about the baby," Kairi started again. "They ask these obscure things I haven't thought of yet, and I pause.... Should I have thought of that already, I wonder?"

 

"Like what?" Sora asked as he got to work on Riku's hair. Even though he had trimmed the undercut before, he still felt nervous about how hard Riku would punch him if he were to mess it up. His hair was certainly one of his vanities. 

 

"Who's going to cut the umbilical cord?"

 

"Gross, Riku will. Next." Sora replied instantly.

 

"Are you going to have another? A little brother or sister for them?"

 

"Holy moly, this one isn't even born yet!" Sora said, incensed. 

 

"What kind of diapers are you going to use?" Kairi continued.

 

"There’s more than one kind of diaper?!" Sora's inflection was too comical for Riku and Kairi to suppress their laughter. "Riku hold still..."

 

"I'm trying not to be bothered, everyone is so well-meaning. Guess I didn't expect that all the well-meaning advice would grow tiring. And I feel like a jerk saying that," Kairi continued. 

 

"You're not a jerk," Riku replied. He was trying hard to hold still, as his natural tendency was to cross his arms. Sora was moving up along the back of his head, and he hoped it would be finished soon. In the meantime, he was facing Kairi through the glass. Seeing her naked in the light was still a bit shocking for him. Her belly was growing by the day. After a pause, "but I know what you mean."

 

"It's a lot of attention. It's okay to feel tired out by it," Sora provided. "Though I may just be saying that to make myself feel better!" That earned further laughter from the others. "Just think. In a few months, we'll go back to the Islands. It will be more peaceful."

 

"Yes, save the visits I'm sure we will receive. Plus Selphie, your mom, and anyone else who remembers us." Kairi was starting to prune up. “Come in to the bath now.”

 

Sora maneuvered Riku sideways so he could trim around the left temple. "Almost done with him. Did you tell Selphie we are coming back to have the baby?" Sora continued.

 

"Of course! You know that we write to each other. And not that I had planned it, but she is offering to lend us her parent’s old house while we are there. No one lives there anymore.”

 

“Wait what happened to her parents?” Riku asked, somewhat mortified by the idea of living in a dead couple’s home. It was akin to a bad omen!

 

“Nothing, silly. They retired to the bigger island with that developing city. I think her father went back to school for botany or something,” Kairi continued. That news had been many letters ago.

 

“You’re done,” Sora said, derailing the conversation. He turned on the shower to rinse off the trimmings before booting Riku out so he could clean himself as well.

 

Kairi beckoned for Riku to join her in the tub and he obliged, leaning back carefully into her embrace after she assured him that it wouldn’t hurt the baby… which was great because he was always the little spoon. His freshly shorn hair tickled her neck. Pruning or not, she was happily comfortable like this and couldn’t imagine getting out now. 

 

“Have you guys noticed we are the only ones we know to have a baby?” Sora asked once his shower was over and he was toweling off his hair. He often did his best thinking in the shower, so it didn’t surprise his lovers at all when he started up conversation to debrief after being under the warm jets. “I mean, Goofy has a son. Max is much older than us, though.”

 

“You’re right,” Kairi said. Riku blew bubbles into the water in front of her as his sign of acknowledgement. "I always assumed the King and Queen would have children first."

 

"Donald and Daisy, or Aqua and Terra. Anyone older than us," Sora continued.

 

"Queen Minnie was so excited when we told her, it made me wonder why she hadn't done the same," Kairi said.

 

"They're different than us, different lifespans. Mickey hasn't aged a day since I met him," Riku provided. "I have no idea how old he is and I think it doesn't matter."

 

"What about Aqua and Terra?" Sora asked.

 

No one had an answer for that, and despite having a few ideas, it didn't feel it kind to gossip. 

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Kairi said. “It means we have a lot of babysitters when we get back. I know the three of us can handle one little baby by ourselves, but it will be nice to have our friends around too.”

 

“Yeah!” Sora chimed in. “You know!  _ After _ we have a year off.”

 

That was saying something. Sora, who loved being around people, was looking forward to being away from the school and their close friends. But who could blame him? Time alone with Riku and Kairi, at least for longer than a few hours, was not a regular part of their lives. Time to focus just on the three of them was an extremely exciting opportunity, and it helped to know that their community would be there when they got back. They chatted more about what they most looked forward to. Soon all three of them were wrapped up in a nice clean bed, and fell asleep almost instantly.

 

\----

 

It was well into evening when Ventus arrived at the Land of Departure, landing his Keyblade glider at the front steps with an audible bang. He barely had time to peel Lea's trembling arms from his middle before being assaulted by Aqua in a tackle-hug that would have bowled him over if not for the meager two inches he had over his dearest of friends. Terra came shortly after, dropping his walking staff to pull both Ven and Aqua into a bone-crushing hug. 

 

After a few tears, Lea also received a hearty welcome and both travelers were ushered into the castle and straight to the kitchens. Students and Masters were finishing supper, and only seemed slightly surprised that Master Aqua and Terra had both suddenly left the meal and returned with two guests.

 

"Lea!!!" Li Ming cheered and darted forward to bombard him with affection. If she weren’t so tiny, she would have knocked her mentor right over.  "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

 

"She don't show ME that sort of love," Mushu tsked from the table. "He does her one teensy little favour, and somehow this puts him in her good books for life!" 

 

"What are you even talking about, Mushu?" asked Lysias from his spot next to the dragon, though it could be argued he was merely humouring the other.

 

"Lea brought her here, so she's actin' all attached to him and stuff! Meanwhile, here I am, loyal guardian, and it's always "leave me alone Mushu," or "you're not my dad, Mushu!""

 

Meanwhile, Kahili and Kaholo had joined and created a crew of rambunctious children hanging off of the insanely tall Lea. To them, he still seemed impossibly cool. To the adults who knew him better, well... They had to remind themselves to save face in front of the students and not let on that their favourite 'badass uncle' was actually a giant softy. Ventus especially had to remember to let Lea have this impression on the students, as he himself was not as easily close to or admired by them. Additionally, he had intimate knowledge of Lea's true nature, and he knew how much it would sting the other’s pride to be knocked down in front of the kids.

 

"Whoa kiddos! You're gonna break my arms," Lea pretended to complain, even as he flexed his arms upwards and brought more than one dangling child off the floor.

 

"Lea! Look how much my fire magic's improved!" Lili exclaimed, not to be outdone by the twins for Lea's attention. She began to conjure a swirl of flames, but Lea quickly waved his hand over hers to silence the spark.

 

"Hey now, not indoors you little spitfire. I learned that lesson the hard way," Lea said with a good natured smile. "Show me after dinner. First I need to get me some of Master Riku's famous home cooking, right? Ah, there he is!"

 

"I would have made twice as much had I known you were coming, friend." Riku grasped arms with his first student, surprised but pleasantly to see him arrive. "And welcome back, Ventus."

 

"Thank you, always good to come home to a warm kitchen," said Ven. 

 

Behind him, Aqua nearly fainted in delight. He still called this place home.

 

Lea moved on to greet Sora, and they did their customary nerdy and embarrassing handshake. Or at least attempted to; it was rather long and somewhere towards the end Lea spotted Kairi and was stopped dead in his tracks. Sora almost smacked him in the face.

 

"What in the heck? Please tell me you’re just getting fat," Lea said, pointing at Kairi's tummy.

 

"Hi Lea, nice to see you too." Kairi rolled her eyes, but could not hide her amusement.

 

"Holy shit, you're pregnant."

 

"Usually, people say 'congratulations,'" Kairi said.

 

"Uhm, congratulations Kairi!" Ventus called from behind Lea. He too had not been aware his friend was expecting a baby.

 

"Thank you, Ventus."

 

"I can't believe you're pregnant," Lea continued.

 

"Lea, save it for later," Riku said, gesturing to the students in an attempt to convey how inappropriate it was to have this conversation right now. He was rewarded with a bashful smile, Lea's hand ruffling his red signature locks. "Get some food for you and Ventus, please."

 

The old dynamic of Master and pupil carried forward even after all these years, no matter how ludicrous it may have seemed to see the taller, older man take direction from the younger Master. Lea nodded and went to serve himself and Ventus a generous portion of dinner. 

 

"I apologize for not letting you know Lea was coming," Aqua said, mostly to Riku. Terra was grinning behind her. There was something they were not letting on, that much was obvious. it was not like them to keep secrets, and so the likely conclusion was a happy surprise. At least Riku hoped so.

 

Riku chose to wait until after the meal to inquire further. The energy in the kitchen was understandably charged up by the arrival of the two visitors. Aqua and Terra seemed especially buzzed and sat on either side of Ventus while he ate his food - or, at least he tried to shovel in mouthfuls between the endless questions about his most recent adventures. Lea attempted to sequester himself with the other adults, but didn't have the heart to completely ignore the students clamouring for his attention. Thankfully, Aqua soon dismissed the students for bed or quiet studies in their rooms. Lili only complained a few times that Lea had asked to see her fire magic after dinner, and made the guy swear on his Keyblade that he would find her first thing in the morning.

 

"Is Li Ming really ready to go back to her world?" Lea asked once the kitchens had cleared out. "I could take her back when I go."

 

"Yes, she misses her parents and they miss her. She is the youngest here after all. We will call her back in a few more years. And, your offer is appreciated," Aqua said with a smile. "It was going to be Sora otherwise."

 

"I did want to see Mulan, but I can go another time," Sora said. Under the table, Kairi squeezed his hand. Lately, she had been loathe to see Sora and Riku disappear on missions, especially since she was forbidden from doing anything remotely fun like that.

 

"That's right, the little bun in the oven needs your presence. Ah, or maybe it's the big ol’ oven herself who needs you?" Lea asked, shooting Kairi a wicked smirk. 

 

"You're going to need stitches if you talk about me like that!" Kairi snapped. "Even though I'm pregnant I could kick your ass, easy!"

 

"Wanna try me, tubbers?"

 

"No, no. Stop it," Riku cut in, holding on to Kairi's arm to prevent her from rising from her seat. Redheads, honestly! So hot tempered. 

 

"I wasn't really gonna fight her," Lea said. "I'm not a  _ monster _ willing to risk the life of an unborn child over petty name calling!"

 

"There's no risk if I squash you before you even have the chance!"

 

"Kairi, peace," Riku pleaded. He looked to Sora for help, but he seemed loathe to get involved and just shrugged to say he wasn’t actually concerned.

 

"You should save that fire for later," Aqua said to Lea. She was calm in demeanour despite the ruckus, as always. "I've gone ahead and invited the King and his entourage to assist us in a few days."

 

"Assist us with what?" Riku asked as Sora whooped about seeing Donald and Goofy. But he already had strong suspicions.

 

"Well. A Mark of Mastery exam, naturally."

 

"For me and Lea!" Ventus chimed in, happy to change the subject away from the pregnancy. "I've felt ready for so long, and now Aqua has arranged it so Lea and I can do it together."

 

"It's nearly impossible to test only one person at a time," Aqua provided for them. "A certain someone wasn't willing until recently."

 

"I wouldn't want to be pitched against Ventus, either," said Sora. 

 

"We'll both pass, right buddy?" Lea directed to his not-quite rival. 

 

"That's the plan!"

 

"Just like me and Sora," Kairi said, mostly calmed from her frustrations with Lea. A Mark of Mastery exam was rather exciting after all, and even though there was the tiniest part of her that wanted him to be knocked down a peg, her desire to see him succeed won over any bitterness over his unexpected hostility towards her.

 

“King Mickey and I have been corresponding about the procedures,” Aqua continued. “Terra is helping as well, though the final decision will be the King’s. I’m too biased when it comes to Ven.”

 

“The old man needs as much help as possible,” Ven said and gestured towards Lea.

 

“Hey!”

 

“If he’s an old man, what does that make me?” Terra asked.

 

“Ancient of course!” Ven replied.

 

That steered the conversation in a whole other direction. It ended with Lea, Ventus, and Terra trying to outdo each other with push ups… to the point that Lea almost puked his dinner. Ven and Terra nearly tied, but in the end the younger man proved that age really was on his side. They all continued talking well into the night.

 

__

  
  


The next day, Lea and Ventus joined the students in morning warm-ups. Their arrival brought a sense of newness to the routine, especially for the students who were essentially in the same schedule throughout the year, with the same people every day, until they were old or experienced enough to go on the odd mission. Lea volunteered to take Li Ming and a few other students for some specialized lessons in fire magic, an event that Sora participated in as well. He and Lea even demonstrated a brief sparring session for the students, with Keyblades and fire magic only, that had delighted the kids despite the nasty burns acquired by both parties. He was happy to report back to Riku and Kairi that Lea really did have a way with the students, and they seemed eager to please him with their dedication and skills. Kairi still couldn’t help but tsk Sora for his performance, as both she and Riku wound up having to soothe his burns with curing magic to prevent any long lasting damage.

 

Lunch time came, and Lili delighted in re-telling the story of when she had met Lea and received the Keyblade from him. Lea had been forced to give it to her, Kahili happily pointed out. He had been trapped and Lili’s stupid sword was useless against the heartless horde, so he had no choice but to give her the Keyblade to save himself. Lea cut in here, explaining that he could see Li Ming was a talented young swordswoman and felt safe putting his life in her hands. She saved his butt, and how surprised he was to find out she was Mulan’s daughter! It didn’t seem possible, but defending her in front of the other students made Lili love him even more. It did not go unnoticed by the other adults that Lea had a way with the students. Even the older, more aloof teenagers readily listened to ol' uncle Lea's directions and seemed comfortable enough to approach him with concerns. It was an enviable talent.

 

In the afternoon Kairi found herself walking the halls alone, having abandoned lessons to make herself something to eat. She was always hungry, lately. She entered the empty kitchen and was in the middle of making herself a bite when she heard the doors open and close behind her. Hoping it was either Sora or Riku, she turned around with a smile to greet whomever had entered. Her eyes instead fell on Lea, and though she tried not to look disappointed she could tell she had failed; he looked to the side, and left promptly as if he had been repelled from the kitchen. It concerned her to feel that sort of tension between them. It was a sharp contrast to the earnest engagement he showed the students during his other interactions. He continued to avoid her the next day. 

 

Riku counselled that she give him time, predicting he would break the silence shortly. He reported that Lea had been avoiding conversation with him as well, and even Sora agreed that their friend was acting strange. Difficult though it was to endure the avoidance, patience paid off in the end.

 

The next day, Lea approached Kairi in the kitchens as she was helping to serve dinner to the line of students that he always seemed to be mixed within around meal times. As she handed him a bowl of hot soup, he made eye contact with her for the first time in a few days and even smiled, though bashfully. He asked if she had some time for him after dinner and she agreed, though the ornery side of her had a moment's hesitation where she considered giving him a dose of his own medicine and ignoring the request. 

 

"Sorry I've been weird," he began once the meal had concluded and they were sequestered away in the library. It was the only place he could feel certain no students would be snooping or looking for him. Knowledge really was power.

 

"Yeah, what's up with you?" Kairi asked, dying to know but not wanting to seem too eager. She trained her face to remain pleasant and inviting, again fighting the urge to rip into him for his behaviour. At least until she heard his excuses. 

 

"Eh, it's a long boring story. Point is I'm sorry and I'll stop, so forgive me okay?" He looked to the side with crossed arms, the opposite of at ease.

 

"No way!"

 

"Oh c'mon Kairi..."

 

"I thought we were closer than that. Why are you being so stingy about the details?" she asked. "You love talking about yourself."

 

"You are so kind with your words," Lea grimaced, but didn't deny it. 

 

"So, spill the beans then. Are you upset with me for not telling you sooner? I didn't know you were coming here, honestly," Kairi began, falling back into an armchair. There was a small collection of them around this particular alcove. 

 

"That's not it." Lea sighed, loitering behind an adjacent chair as if to say he wasn't planning to stay. 

 

"If you really don't want to talk about it..."

 

"I’m sorry, ergh…  I’m happy for you, aaaand feeling so. Surprised. I was unhappy when I found out because I figured it meant you’d be too busy for me," he said. “Yeah, I know. It was dumb. And gross. I feel like I'm supposed to treat you different now, too."

 

"Please don't, treat me any differently I mean. I'm still the same person, just gassy and uncomfortable half the time and bored the other half." She was pleased to earn a laugh from him for that. "Honestly though! Allow me to hold on to every shred of normalcy that I can while pregnant. I'm not so naive to think things will be the same after this baby comes, but our friendship will not disappear. If anything, I want you closer. As long as you stop acting like a jerk."

 

"Uhhhm..." He had never been good with accepting affectionate statements like that, reflexively looking away and ruffling his hair. “I’ll stop. I’m over myself.”

 

“Good. Now I can be happy for you and cheer on your exam.” Kairi settled back into her chair, already feeling whatever tension she held now slip away.

 

"That reminds me... guess who Master Aqua asked to stay on as a teacher after totally annihilating the Mark of Mastery Exam?"

 

"Ventus."

 

"Damnit Kairi! Yes him, but I was talking about me, as long as I pass the exam," he said, trying his best to look cross while his friend suppressed her giggles. It was feeling more comfortable now, he realized. Like old times. "I'm on the fence about it-"

 

"You can't be serious. The students love you! Oh Lea you'd do so well here, please say yes." Kairi clasped her hands as if begging.

 

"I know it would be fine, but I like travelling too you know! Ah I guess it may be time to settle down, I don't know." He finally came around the arm chair, flopping into it with the grace of an awkward giraffe. Limbs hung off the armrests in no particular order.

 

"How long does Aqua request you stay?" she asked.

 

"Hmm. Well at least 'till you three, er. Four, by that time, come back from the Islands." He laughed lightly, still in disbelief that there would be a little baby coming back with them.

 

"Sounds like low commitment, your favourite," she teased. "If you hate it you can figure something else out. But you will be Master Lea by then... Hopefully."

 

"Definitely!"

 

"Sounds so weird! Master Lea..."

 

"Not nearly as weird as mommy Kairi."

 

Kairi chortled at that because yeah, that still sounded weird to her as well. Her right hand rested atop her belly, a reflexive movement she couldn't seem to avoid over and over when the baby came up in conversation. Laughter seemed to reach the growing babe lately, and a dance break proceeded somewhere near her kidneys in reaction to her glee. This only served to make her laugh more, which unsettled her friend.

 

"Didn't think it was that funny," he said.

 

"No no, the baby is moving. Come, place your hand here," she said and without waiting for a reply, took his nearest hand up in her own and pushed it firmly against the left side of her stomach. She could have laughed all over again at the uncomfortable look on his face, but held back for his sake. “You feel that?”

 

“Mhm…” Lea’s face was mostly blank, perhaps the tiniest crinkle between his brows the only thing to betray his concentration on the fluttering beneath his hand. It stunned him to silence; he had not known any pregnant women let alone been allowed/forced to be this close to a baby  _ moving inside _ someone’s body before! It was disgusting and amazing and he couldn’t pull away.

 

This was where hearts were supposed to come from, he figured. It’s how he had gotten his, the first time at least. He couldn’t help but think of Roxas, and Xion. The heart that had created Roxas now beat inside Ven. Xion was another story too, allegedly. He still had trouble putting all the pieces together over that year of his non-existence. 

 

“Are.. you okay?” Kairi said, somewhat amused. And were his eyes welling up or was she just imagining that? “You’ve been quiet for a few moments.”   
  


“What? Oh,” Lea straightened up and removed his hand, which he noticed was not being pinned by Kairi any longer and had been resting atop the baby by his own free will. “N-now don't go blabbering off to those boyfriends of yours that I did that!” He made to get up and leave, screeching the armchair against the pristine floors in his haste.

 

“They already know you’re a total sap!” Kairi called at his retreating form. After a moment more, she awkwardly upheaved herself from her chair and set off for her chambers with the mind to sleep well. After all, the Disney Castle residents were due to arrive the next day.

 

And arrive they did, but in lesser numbers than predicted. Mickey and Minnie both came, accompanied only by Goofy and Pluto. Someone had to stay behind, it turned out. Donald’s nephews had made a fantastic attempt to rise to the occasion, but mischief found them in the end and Donald and Daisy had voluntarily stayed to both clean up the mess and keep an eye on things. It seemed like no matter how mature the triplets grew, their true natures never changed.

 

Sora had been awfully disappointed to hear that Donald wasn’t coming, though Goofy did try to cheer him up by laying down some vague plans to come back with their teammate for a visit before Kairi had the baby. He even hinted at a potential mission for the three of them to Radiant Garden, which actually lifted Sora’s spirits somewhat. The faithful friend empathized that it was hard for both Donald and himself to not see Sora for such long stretches of time. They were so used to travelling together, and the years apart did little to assuage longing for the “good old days.”

 

Not that the two hadn’t plenty to talk of now, either! Sora was about to become a father, and he wasn’t shy to ask his good friend some of the questions he had without fear of judgement. The students similarly felt at ease around the friendly knight, and so Sora wasted no time in bringing Goofy along to show the students a few specialized lessons on working with a shield. Somehow they all wound up sledding in the woods. It was a fantastic time regardless!

 

This was background noise to the main event of course; the mark of Mastery Exam was possibly the most exciting thing to happen at the Land of Departure since it had been resurrected. It was the first time any of the students had been able to witness the exam, and the older ones paid  extra close attention in hopes of learning all they could for their future exams as well. They had been taught that each exam could be quite different than any exam beforehand, but they shouldn’t worry about what they would exactly do and instead know in their hearts that if they were true Masters, they would pass.

 

This particular exam seemed to focus on the wielder's bond with his own Keyblade. Lea and Ven’s Keyblades were each set in two different spots in the frosted forests and lakes below the castle, and the examinees had to find their own Keyblade by following their heart’s connection to their blade. They were not allowed to summon it to their hands, but had to trust their instincts to locate the precious weapon. To bring some element of difficulty, all present Masters hid their own blades in the forest as well. On top of that, once each had located their own Keyblade, they were to seek the other out and fight. If the other hadn’t yet found their Keyblade, that part of the exam would be over very quickly and it was likely only one would pass.

 

Little glowing lights danced over the treetops to help the spectators see where each examinee was, from their comfortable perch on the castle’s large rear balcony. The first twenty minutes or so were relatively eventless, with Ven’s green light steadily drifting in the general direction of his hidden Keyblade and Lea’s red going in circles at first before setting out on a clear path towards his own. It took a bit longer than any of the children had expected and they grew bored quickly, some of the youngest taking to a good game of tag to pass the time. Then Ventus got to his Keyblade, and a solid whoop of exuberance sent a flock of birds from the nearby trees. The younger spectators gathered just in time to watch the green light travel at top speed towards the red. 

 

Those few minutes after Ventus found his Keyblade were nail-biting, as Lea still hadn’t located his own. The red light seemed to dart this way and that, and Lea finally connected with his own Keyblade mere moments before he and Ven collided in an explosion of fire and wind that fell more than a few trees. Even though the competitors could not hear anything from the balcony, the students could not help but cheer out words of encouragement and shouts of awe as more foliage was destroyed in the heated battle. King Mickey summoned his own Keyblade back from the forest, and with a pop of magic disappeared to have a closer view of the battle. He was to pass final judgment after all. 

 

From the balcony, the fighting seemed to suddenly stop for no discernible reason. The silence was only punctuated by the angry calls of misplaced birds. Confused conversation broke out amongst the Masters, students, and visitors, all wagering what they believed to be occurring below. Before this could drive anyone to the brink of anticipatory anxiety, Terra called out that he spotted the King and the two examinees ascending the stairs to meet the larger group.

 

Mickey appeared first, flanked by Lea and Ventus. Both were smiling, despite torn clothes and a few angry burns. The group of onlookers fell quickly into silence.

 

“May I present to you,” King Mickey began with pomp and tantalizing pause, “our new Keyblade Master, Ventus.” Another pause. “And! Our new Keyblade Master, Lea.”

 

The declaration catalyzed a throng of excitement and congratulations, which rolled into an evening of celebration. Ventus and Lea were treated for injuries somewhere along the way, and fed well with their favourite foods. Everyone in the Land of Departure likewise took the opportunity to revel and enjoy themselves, as well as speak openly about their hopes for the two new instructors that were going to now officially be at the school.

 

Mickey presided over all, graciously sharing a wealth of interesting foods from his castle along with plenty of treats for the younger students (the adults indulged as well of course). Some silly party games from his home world were brought along, and some gifts for the new Masters that were commemorative tokens of their accomplishments. He may or may not have been pressing extra things into Riku’s hands throughout; a packet of sweets, small bottles of elixirs that had fallen from a pinata, and the like. “For your time at home,” he murmured. Riku didn’t try to argue. It was true that there would be a lot to miss while he was back on the islands.

 

And when Minnie felt she had the chance, she pulled Kairi aside to formally congratulate her in person… as well as take the chance to put her hand on the baby bump. The baby was squirming around, clearly excited by all of the noise and was kicking at full force, which delighted the Queen.

 

“This little one already feels so strong,” Minnie proclaimed through misty eyes. “Did the midwife have any news for you?”

 

“Nothing out of the ordinary, thank goodness,” Kairi replied, thinking of her time being prodded and poked by the visiting midwife Minnie had sent. It had not been a pleasant experience by any means, but hearing that everything seemed healthy and normal was a worthwhile reward. “Thank you again for sending her. Riku gets worked up if I talk of travelling off-world, so it was wonderful to avoid all of that.”

 

“It was my pleasure. I’m only sorry that I could not have come to see you sooner! We have been quite busy over on my side of things.” Minnie finally removed her hand from Kairi’s belly, only to take up her young friend’s hand and give it a good squeeze.

 

“Busy? Busier than normal?” That worried Kairi a bit. Being busy as a Keyblade Master usually meant there was something dangerous happening. Her concern was not hidden in her tone.

 

“Now don’t you worry, Kairi. The King and I are working hard to ensure you and yours will have a true break over the next year,” Minnie said and pat Kairi’s hand. Her smile was genuine. “We have everything under control.”

 

“I’m so grateful,” Kairi said, but the worry wasn’t quenched. 

 

“It is the least we can do. And speaking of, I hope you do not mind that we will be sending you some things? We will of course send it all straight to the Islands so you will not have to worry about transporting anything,” said Minnie, launching into another topic entirely. 

 

“How could I mind? You always treat us so well,” Kairi said, allowing the concerning subject to drop. “I feel sorry that I have only my thanks and love in return.”

 

“Darling, please! You have helped more than you know caring for the students here. You’ve devoted your life to our cause!”

 

Kairi smiled then. She hadn’t really seen it that way before! The Queen truly had a way of making her feel appreciated with seemingly little effort.

 

“...just a few things to help with the baby. I’m sure you’ll have much and more at your home town, but we are family and this is what family does! Oh look at me, getting all sentimental. Come! Let’s rejoin the others.” And with that, Minnie whisked them both back into the festivities.

 

Kairi looked around the room. Each face she saw was caught in a moment of true happiness, and each she found she loved on a deeper level. Family. She had lacked a true sense of it until this place. It was going to be difficult to leave, and it was the first time she had considered it so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! your comments on chapter one were really lovely. are you doing okay keeping track of the OCs?? I can include my notes for them, let me know if you'd like to see a little summary in order to help tell everyone apart.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The soon-to-be parents get ready to move home, and totally handle it smoothly with no emotional outbursts at all!!!

The child was fidgeting. Kairi giggled to herself, amused by the bored look Tali was directing at the mirror. This show of amusement seemed to further frustrate the small girl, who was trying her best not to scowl as Kairi combed her hair. It was dark brown and wiry, fuzzing up in all directions and quite beautiful if not extremely difficult to train with. Kairi always offered to do her best with it for the sake of lessons, twisting it into braids or back into a soft bun. As it was, Tali grew impatient with the Master's scoffing and sighed dramatically.

 

"Master Kairi,  _ what _ is so funny?" Tali demanded as she stared at the other's face in the mirror before them.

 

"Your face, the little pout," Kairi said with one last light laugh. "It's very cute to me, you know."

 

"Ah jeeze," Tali groaned, red flushing her dark cheeks. "I'm not cute! I'm fierce!"

 

"Okay, then show me tiger face," Kairi said. Tali snarled ferociously at her own reflection. “What about eagle face?” Tali stared severely, mouth pinched closed. Kairi listed a few more animals for the girl to try, and had them both in a better mood for it. “Okay one more,” she finally said as she pinned the bun into place. “Sora face.”

 

Tali smiled as big as possible and gave a thumbs up to their reflections. Soon they were both laughing at the child’s spot-on impersonation of her Master. Sora had been introduced to Tali at Radiant Garden just over a year ago, and took the orphan back with him when it became clear she could summon a Keyblade. Yuffie had taught the child some basics, but Tali was in much better hands with the Masters. And in a lot less trouble. Sora had taken her under his wing.

 

But for things like hairdo’s and hugs, Kairi was the go-to. 

 

Tali rounded her chair to give a hug of thanks, which was difficult considering Kairi’s belly. She had a mere four weeks to go, give or take.

 

“First Lili and now you! I’m going to miss you, Kairi,” Tali said into her Master’s side, her sincerity showing no need for formal titles. Young though she was, Tali had nowhere else to be and no family to return to, unlike Li Meng who had returned to her parents not too long ago. Kairi chose to not comment on the fighting that has dominated Tali's relationship with Lili. Absence made the heart grow fonder, she supposed.

 

“It’s just for a short while,” Kairi said, aware of the abandonment the child felt nonetheless. 

 

“But after this, Master Aqua is going to be the only girl teacher!” the child bemoaned. “That’s not fair at all!”

 

“Well, fierce tiger girl, you have a lot of work to do then!” Kairi gave the child one last squeeze before directing them out of the small bedroom. “You must do well with your training and become a Master, too. That will even things up, right?”

 

Tali nodded in agreement. As they entered a small common space some of the students shared, Tali dislodged herself from Kairi’s side and took off to join her friends. She was still the youngest by two years, but got along well with the 14-year-olds. Kahili and Kaholo were playing a game of cards with Mercy, a sweet chubby girl from the Dwarf Woodlands who was a surrogate big sister to Tali. The sight was so that Kairi didn’t even bother to remind them they were expected any moment for breakfast. Hungry children would come get food, she rationalized, and slipped from the room to take herself to the kitchens.

 

She may have been growing softer on discipline, she mused as she all but waddled down the hall. The weight of the pregnancy was… larger than she had expected. Swollen ankles and fingers made regular tasks more difficult, and she had to rest often. On top of that, she felt like a whale. Often Kairi pined for the due date and the end to being so distended, and often she loathed the thought of leaving the Land of Departure and everyone in it. Her emotions were all over the place, and the constant flip-flopping between wanting to leave and wanting to stay tore at her a little.

 

Yet if one thing could distract her, even momentarily, it was food. She entered the kitchens and was immediately greeted with the smells of soup and porridge, something baking in the oven, and some sort of bacon frying up in the pan. Lea and Riku stood shoulder to shoulder at the counter, and Ventus was setting out the plates and utensils. No one paused in their work when she entered, but Riku turned his head and regarded her with a warm smile.

 

“There’s some soup already done over there,” he said, motioning to a fat pot of miso soup keeping warm on the stove. He knew her appetites made it impossible to wait until everyone arrived to eat. 

 

Kairi walked to the pot and lifted the lid, taking in the aromas. Salty was definitely what she craved. She took up a bowl and served herself a ladle of the good stuff. “Miso is my favourite.”

 

“I know,” Riku said and returned to his chopping board. Fresh fruit was nearly all chopped, and he supervised Lea’s cooking of the thinly sliced meats. “I made it just for you.”

 

“I helped!” Lea interjected. 

 

“He did,” Riku agreed over Kairi’s snort of disbelief. “He also made the rolls in the oven, so I take no blame if they turn out awful.”

 

“The teacher always takes blame if the student fails,” Lea said defensively.

 

“Not so,” Ventus piped in, rather unhelpfully in Lea’s opinion. “Unless you’re saying Master Riku did a bad job teaching you?”

 

“That’s enough, Master Ven. No one asked you,” said Lea.

 

“Master Lea, you cannot deflect responsibilities,” Ven teased back. “You’re a Master now, Master.” Lea guffawed heartily.

 

“I see you two haven’t grown tired of your game yet,” Kairi said as she sat herself at the table. Her bowl of soup rested atop her belly - the table was just too far!

 

“I’ll stop doing it when Master stops laughing,” said Ven (Lea choked on another laugh), pausing his work to hand her a spoon. “Careful, that soup is hot! What if it spills on you?” He took up a nearby plate and lifted the soup from her stomach, leaving the plate balanced atop her instead and the soup over that. It looked ridiculous but would likely prevent her from scalding any skin or ruining the few items of clothing that still actually fit her.

 

“Thank you, Ven,” Kairi said, feeling herself a guilty slob. She was probably going to suck down the soup far before it had a chance to spill. When Ven didn’t leave her side, she looked up to see him waiting patiently for something. She sighed. “Thank you, Master Ven.”

 

“You’re welcome, Master Kairi,” Ventus said and hurried off to complete his tasks. Lea stuck out a leg to try and trip the shorter man, but failed. 

 

“Can you please not? You’re hovering over hot oil,” Riku warned his sous chef. Lea gave a shrug. “Okay wise Master, move over then. I’ll take over the bacon.”

 

“I’m doing fine! Stop controlling the fun!”

 

Kairi had finished her soup. That was fast, even for her. She joined the bickering men once again by all the food, and served herself a second helping. 

 

“I wonder what porridge tastes like in miso,” Kairi mused, taking a scoop of the sweet stuff and plopping it into her bowl. Riku and Lea paused in their spat to stare at her, and Lea possibly winced when she took a bite. “What? It’s good!” Kairi proclaimed. “Salty and sweet, your favourite. Here, try some.”

 

“No way,” Lea said and backed away from the counter. Riku happily moved in to take control of the bacon situation. Kairi directed a spoonful to him, and he actually took a mouthful to please his wife. 

 

“It’s uhm. Not bad,” Riku said after swallowing. It was awful actually, but Kairi had been enjoying some interesting food combinations lately and he had learned not to call her out on it. It was one of the few things that made her happy these days. ‘Good’ food and neck rubs. He watched her take some cooling bacon and crumble it into her soup concoction. Ugh.

 

“Where’s Sora?” She asked over the bowl.

 

"He took Lysias and Rosa to the Colosseum, remember? Donald and Goofy are meeting him." 

 

"...Right," Kairi answered, slightly embarrassed. She dawdled by the food, earning a sigh from her husband.

 

"He'll be back tonight, just a day trip," Riku reminded her. “Man would I love to see Phil’s face when he gets a load of Lysias! I’ve asked Sora to brag extra hard for me.”

 

The students began trickling in then, or those of them left. With Li Meng gone and Lysias and Rosa off-world, only five students remained. It was the first time in a while the group was to have the same amount of Masters present as students (and when you counted Terra, more adults to student ratio). The four who had been playing the card game were preceded by Gustave, one of the newest students from La Cite Des Cloches. Dark skin and dark hair accentuated his bright green eyes. In the presence of his teachers, Gustave showed a polite and even gracious side of himself. Yet he was quickly building a reputation to be a prankster with the other students. No wonder Sora had taken the teen on under his guidance.

 

Kairi privately wondered what would become of their Master-student system once the three of them went back home. While all teachers spent time with every student in terms of training, each child was additionally paired with one of the teachers as their main den mother, so to speak. This one-on-one bond was a sort of filler for the attachment relationship most of the students lacked. Kairi had been this figure for both Rosa and Mercy, and cared for the girls in the same way that she imagined she would care for her own child. With Li Ming gone, Riku's only student was Lysias. He and Rosa were adults already, and likely to take their Mark of Mastery exam soon. Their needs for their Masters were growing smaller as they grew into their own people. They would probably adapt quickest to the absence of their mentors.

 

That left Mercy and Sora's two: Tali and Gustave. The latter got on well with Ventus and Kairi figured the guys would be paired together. Terra already had his hands full with the twins. As headmistress, Aqua usually took no students on directly the way the other Masters did. Kairi still made a mental note to discuss the transition with her before she left next week. Even though she was sure Aqua already had her own plans for how things were going to work, Tali’s earlier words had stuck with her. The girls needed a female role model, and they were in short supply. As much as Kairi loathed the idea of missing Lysias and Rosa’s Mark of Mastery Exam, if Rosa were promoted sooner perhaps that would be best…

 

“Kairi?” Riku said, gently cupping her face to break her from her reverie. “You okay?”

 

“Yes,” Kairi said, reddening. The students were nearby, enough that she was very aware of how intimate that gesture had been. His hesitancy to show that sort of affection had degraded lately.

 

Kairi busied herself with bringing fruit and rolls to the table, and the guys brought the rest. Breakfast went along as normal, aside from her near-constant daydreaming of how things would be in her absence. Life would carry on, allegedly.

 

Just one more week. 

 

\---

 

“Okay, now take my hands,” Lea said and extended his arms. He was standing face to face with Kairi, who obliged his request. “You’re going to lower into a squat, but if you feel any pains just drop gently onto your butt with wide bent legs. There’s a pillow right there.”

 

“Hold on tight,” Kairi pleaded, nervous that she would tear something. She had been attempting to keep up with strength training and exercise, but the third trimester was making it difficult. That belly got in the way of nearly everything, and threw her balance off. Plus a few of her favourite exercises were now downright dangerous. Bless Lea, who volunteered to hit his yoga books and find some exercises she could do to tone muscles that would help her stay strong. They had been doing their little one-on-one exercises for the past 6 weeks or so, and she actually really enjoyed it. He challenged her, but never pushed too hard.

 

Together they lowered into a squat. Kairi kept a firm grip on Lea, face going beet red with the effort.

 

“Uuughh I can’t do this!” Kairi wailed.

 

“C’mon just take a few breaths,” Lea said, giving her hands a squeeze. Kairi did as she was told again, but soon lowered herself onto the pillow with a huge sigh. “There ya go. You did great, kiddo.”

 

Kairi groaned as he took her arms and set her elbows to the inside of her widely-spread knees, hands pressed together in prayer at her chest. Sweat was beginning at her temples.

 

“Just keep breathing,” Lea said and got up to get his book. He flipped through a few pages and sat across from her again. “Says here to relax your pelvic floor.”

 

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Kairi said, her eyes closed and concentrating on her breathing. She was only mildly annoyed that Lea laughed at that.

 

“Just relax as much as you can,” he said. 

 

“Fine.” A pause. “I need to pee.”   
  
“Again!?”

 

“There’s a six pound human pushing against my bladder. YES again!!”

 

Lea sighed and gave her a hand up. He had long ago learned to not argue about that kind of thing. First of all, Kairi had taken the time to show him a downright frightening picture from her maternity book of the way her insides were all squished by the full-grown baby inside of her. Secondly, she peed herself the first time they tried exercising together and he was still embarrassed thinking about it. Sora had cuffed him pretty hard for that, as if it were his fault! In his opinion, all three of them were acting even more like over-emotional weirdos as the pregnancy progressed. Even though he was going to miss them, it was probably a good thing they were going to take a little break for the birth of the kid. If they were this neurotic now, it would only grow worse once a helpless newborn was in the picture. Hopefully some sunshine and a break from the school would help them chill the fuck out.  

Lea waited just inside the door to Kairi's room as she relieved herself, doing his best to not look around. It was partially a disaster zone, large trunks open in two different places and half packed with belongings. The bed was likewise littered with clothing and books.

 

"I'm tired," Kairi announced as she re-entered the room, causing Lea to snap his gaze back to her. "Let's take a nap."

 

"Don't you mean go to bed?" It was well into the night, after all. Dinner had been a short while ago.

 

"Mmm, I guess so." Kairi padded over to the bed and sat, swinging her feet up quickly and rolling onto her side.

 

Lea felt awkward, and rocked on his heels for a bit before deciding he should go. "Well, goodnight then." He turned to leave.

 

"Don't," she called out, and he was surprised enough to hear her protest let alone the edge in her voice. 

 

"What?" He said at first, stupidly. "What's wrong?"

 

"N-nothing," Kairi answered. She sounded like she was crying now, and this caused him to get over himself and approach her. She stuffed her face into a pillow and said something incomprehensible. 

 

"What?"

 

"I said," she replied with a sniff, having resurfaced from the pillows. "I just want to hang out because I'm going to miss you so much."

 

"That would be pretty touching, if you weren't so hormonal."

 

"Lea!!" She rolled over to face him and he was aghast to see fat tears creeping down her cheeks. "I mean it! We are leaving in two days and I'm having a crisis."

 

"It's not like we won't see each other," he said in an attempt to contain the anxiety. He hesitated a moment longer before sitting on the bed beside her, feet still planted firmly on the floor. 

 

"I know, I'm just used to seeing you every day! I  _ like _ seeing you every day. And the students, and Ventus and Terra and, and A-Aquaaaaa!" Her tears began again.

 

"We'll miss you too," Lea said, rubbing her arm. Jeeze, what he wouldn't do to have one of her boyfriends here to console her instead. She then gripped him by the shirt and pulled him down into a warm, wet embrace, and he wished for nothing less than one of them to walk in on that! He wasn't all the way on the bed, but almost. 

 

"Hug me back, you jerk!" Kairi tightened her grip, and was rewarded when she felt him relax somewhat and drape a lanky arm around her.

 

"I'm not much of a hugger," Lea mumbled.

 

"With girls," she shot back.

 

"H-hey, I told you that in confidence! Don't throw it in my face because you're all emotional!" Lea was squirming now, but Kairi did not let go.

 

"Sorry," Kairi said and gulped back another sob. "That was mean. I'm going to be a t-terrible mother."

 

"No, that's not- you're getting worked up, Kairi. Try relax," he said and rubbed her back. He knew it was not the time for banter or argument, even though his feelings were a little chafed. He had to just be the strong one right then, and then totally get back at her when she wasn't in such a delicate state. "Breathe, just like in yoga. Everything is okay. You're about to take a well deserved vacation and you're gonna meet that little baby soon. We will all visit you. Everything is fine."

 

Kairi took some deep, snotty breaths. Her grip loosened somewhat, then she moved her hand to her belly.

 

"Your baby is kicking me in the ribs, though I suppose I shouldn't complain about that to  _ you _ ," said Lea, earning him a throaty laugh from Kairi. He pulled up to create some more space between them, and saw she was no longer tearing up. Her face was still puffy though. "You okay?"

 

"Y-yeah. Sorry, the emotional stuff is so up and down." Kairi wiped at her face with her free hand. "I really am going to miss you, though."

 

"I really am going to visit," Lea responded. "And you'll be back here before you know it."

 

"What are you guys doing?" Sora's voice startled the pair, causing Lea to jerk further away from Kairi. Sora made quick strides to the bed, and Riku appeared in the doorway behind him.

 

"Uhhh..." Lea couldn't find his words.

 

"I started crying, and Lea was nice enough to look after me even though it probably freaked him out," Kairi explained, blessedly saving Lea from having to think of a response. She wiped away another tear before it could fall. 

 

Sora hummed in acknowledgement and leaned over the side of the bed. He pushed hair from her tear tracked cheeks, noting from her gentle smile of satisfaction that she was okay. "Thanks man," he said to Lea. "I'm going to miss you."

 

"Not you too! I swear, you are all a bunch of saps," said Lea, sticking out his tongue. 

 

"Well I won’t miss you,” Riku teased, having come further into his room. He still looked a little stiff, as if having Lea in this personal space, on his bed, almost canoodling his wife, was still a few degrees of uncomfortable. Go figure!

 

“That’s exactly what you  _ would _ say if you were going to miss him the most,” said Sora. Riku rolled his eyes. Sora didn’t at all seem plussed by their visitor, in further contrast. He was very close to Lea when he sat on the bed and even started making himself comfortable.

 

“No way, Sora. We have packing to do.” Riku crossed his arms, as if to say he meant business.

 

“Aw c’mon Riku. Can’t we get to it in the morning? I’m beat!”

 

“When the baby is wet or hungry, you’ll have to tend to him even when you’re beat,” Riku pushed on unapologetically. “Think of this as Dad Training. And you,” Riku turned to Lea now. “Unless you want to help us, I politely ask that we say goodnight.”

 

“I was just leaving,” Lea said, harsher than he intended, and rose from the bed. Even though it was stupid, he felt left out! Everyone had their best friends around except for him, he thought for a bitter second. Then small fingers were around his wrist and he halted. Kairi had maneuvered herself upright again to delay his departure, and pulled him into a brief embrace.

 

“Thank you,” Kairi said softly before letting him go.

 

“See you tomorrow,” Lea replied, but looked up to extend the acknowledgement to the guys as well. Sora gave him a tired thumbs up, and Riku smirked while rolling his eyes yet again. And then he was gone.

 

“Thank you?” Riku asked Kairi, feeling entitled to an explanation.

 

“It’s the polite thing to say when you’re appreciative, yes,” Kairi shot back at him, arms crossed over her breasts. “He’s been helping your wife exercise and prepare to push out your child.”

 

Riku regarded her silently, in that I-know-you’re-right-but-I-don’t-want-to-fess-up-to-it-just-now kind of way. Usually it would just serve to annoy her further, but in that moment his stubbornness was  _ adorable _ . Riku, in turn, looked a bit unnerved that she was smiling so sweetly at him. 

 

“W..what?”

 

“Nothing!” she replied quickly and pulled him to her side, pleased when his arm naturally fell around her shoulders. “I just love you.”

 

“What about me?” Sora asked, standing from the bed.

 

“Not you. Never you,” Riku replied, earning a look of mock-hurt. Well! If Sora was going to ask such a stupid question, he was going to get a stupid answer. “You’re just here to pack our trunks. Get to it.”

 

“Yes sir! And would you like your shoes shined and your dick sucked while I’m at it?”

 

“You don’t get to suck anything ‘till we’re packed,” Riku said, ushering them both along to the sounds of Kairi’s snorting laughter. 

 

The three of them took seats at familiar piles of belongings: Kairi on the bed, Sora by the largest trunk, and Riku at their table. The work was far from enjoyable, but they were using this opportunity to clear out and go through everything they had piled into their bedroom over the years. Armfuls of clothing had already been put into the “hand-me-down closet” that existed to provide an ongoing supply of clothing for students who came, grew, and went. Long missing books from the Library had been properly replaced. A few disgusting empty bottles of this or that, that had rolled under the bed or fallen under something in a closet, had been discarded. Yes, Sora  _ actually _ threw things away! Trinkets they wanted to keep here at the Land of Departure had been dusted and put away into drawers. Keychains were organized. Sex toys were washed and packed. Three brand new, Disney Castle approved cell phones sat charging together in a corner. And now Sora and Kairi were folding up what was left of their clothes while Riku organized the last of the books and papers they would be bringing. He was under some delusion that he was going to want to continue his reading studies while at the Islands.

 

“I think this trunk may actually be nearly finished!” Sora said, placing a stack of shirts inside  and patting them down. The trunks were somewhat magical in nature, boasting a larger interior than seemingly possible from the outside. They only needed three of these trunks for all of their stuff, plus a few baby essentials they had been gathering. They did plan to get most of  _ that _ once they were back on the Islands.

 

“Nearly finished and finished are two different things,” Kairi called from the bed, then patted a pile of her own tops she had folded. “Here, put these in as well, please. I cannot wait to wear my old clothes again…”

 

"I can't believe you still have a month to go. Can you even get any bigger?" Sora asked distractedly. 

 

"You're right Sora! I'm flippin' huge, right?" There was hurt in her voice, which brought Sora’s attention back to her. He hadn't meant it like that!

 

"No, that's not it! I'm just saying I didn't know you'd get this big!" Sora said, but immediately Kairi's face dropped and he realized he was making it worse."I mean, none of us knew! It's one thing to read about it, and another to actually SEE it-"

 

"Sora, stop talking," Riku cut in, not wishing for this to turn into a meltdown. Even though Kairi was technically the only pregnant one, all of their emotions seemed under the influence of the impending birth. "Listen, we're all tired. Kairi, Sora is  _ trying _ to empathize with how unexpectedly hard this has been on your body."

 

"Yeah that's all!"

 

"And failing. Sora, be more mindful of your words."

 

"...You already sound like a dad," Kairi said with a pleased sigh. “Delegating and problem solving. You’re going to be such a great father…” Unbidden, tears welled in the corners of her eyes. This earned her some panicked looks from both Sora and Riku, so she tried to wave their fears away. “I’m fine, I’m just… GODS someone get this baby out of me already!”

 

“Soon, Kai,” Sora said and moved to be by her side. Instead of taking the pile of clothes she had folded for the trunk, he sat beside her and pulled her as close as possible. The physical affection made her start to sob. Sora looked over her shuddering shoulder at Riku, who abandoned his work and sat behind her to hug them both. Even though she kept protesting that she was fine, she did not let go until the tears dried and her breathing returned to normal.

 

“We  _ are _ saps,” Kairi said, withdrawing her face from Sora’s shoulder. “We always wind up hugging or making out.”

 

“So what?” Riku replied. “It helps with almost anything. Effective as fuck.”

 

“No cursing around the baby, remember?”

 

“Sora, shut up. Seriously.”

 

“You’re both perfect,” Kairi sighed, squeezing them closer again before finally letting them go. Sora looked a bit overly pleased with himself and Riku couldn’t hide his smirk either. “I wouldn’t want to do this with…” she trailed off, a hand resting on her stomach.

 

“Kairi! Are you okay?” Sora placed a hand over her own, Riku looking panic-stricken behind her and tried to crawl closer.

 

“I-I’m fine,” she said through gritted teeth. The wave of pain passed almost as quickly as it had come, and she looked up to offer her husbands a reassuring smile. “Probably just gas.”

 

“Just take it easy, okay? Cuddle Sora and I’ll finish the packing.” Wow, Riku must have really been feeling concerned to suggest such a thing.

 

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Kairi whined, even as she leaned forward into Sora’s waiting embrace. Sora on the other hand would not question this gift being given and took his Kairi cuddling responsibilities very seriously, getting her comfortable with a pillow between her knees and a blanket over them both. This position allowed him to rub soothing circles over their baby, willing the little guy to just stay put a couple more days at least.

 

“Okay, so. These shirts?” Riku asked, taking up their work once more.

 

“Big trunk,” Sora supplied, as Kairi sighed against him and closed her eyes. It was then that Sora caught Riku’s gaze, reading the worry lines crinkling between his eyebrows. “The big trunk has lots of space and support, and is going to be just fine,” he said, hoping Riku caught his meaning.

 

“Weirdos,” Kairi breathed against Sora’s chest, and he couldn’t help a soppy smile.

 

“Absolutely,” Riku replied, returning his husband’s smile. “And we’re  _ your _ weirdos.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the sun!

\---

 

“SHIT!”

 

What a rude wake up call. Or at least Sora thought so until his sleepy brain pieced together that it was Kairi who had called out, and she and Riku were already scrambling next to him. A light was flicked on, which only served to momentarily blind all three of them.

 

“Wha- what’s going on?” Sora slurred, willing his mind to catch up.

 

“ShiiiIIIIIIT!!!! OWWW!!!!” Kairi wailed, grasping at her stomach. Beside her, Riku ripped the blankets off of them to reveal a growing wet spot between Kairi’s legs.

 

“Oh crap,” Sora said.

 

“Her water broke,” Riku supplied unnecessarily, quickly but gently scooping her into his arms. She cried out but didn't seem able to say much except for the words ‘ow’ and ‘shit’ as he carried her towards the washroom.

 

“But it's too early!” said Sora, tripping over himself to turn on the lights as Riku sat Kairi on the toilet.

 

“Well the baby has decided he wants to come _now,”_ Riku gritted through his teeth, and only then did Sora see how extraordinarily pale he looked.

 

“But it's too earlyyyyy!!” Kairi wailed, the fresh concern apparently breaking her out of her two-word vocabulary lockdown.

 

“It's okay, Kairi. You're full term,” Riku said as calmly as possible, trying to wiggle her soaked panties down and out of the way. His hands were shaking.

 

“But I! I wanted to have the baby in the ocean!!” She leaned back, the pain of the contraction easing up. “Like your moms did with you! It's all _ruined!!”_

 

“It's not, Kairi. This is just plan B,” Sora said in an attempt to soothe her, pushing sweaty hair off of her face.

 

“This isn't plan B!!! This isn't even plan C!!! This is plan Z!!!!!!”

 

“So the baby is already a bossy pain in the ass, we knew the risks!” Sora said, and only smiled after he earned a flustered laugh from Kairi.  “This may be plan Z but we’re gonna make it the best plan Z ever. I’ll go get Aqua, okay?”

 

“Y-yeah. Yeah, that's good,” Kairi replied, and grabbed for his arm before he could leave. “Listen. Both of you.” Riku looked up, barely contained panic plain in his eyes. “Stay close. Please. Even if I'm a total jerk please, please-”

 

“Kairi, we’re not going anywhere.” Riku said.

 

“Right. Except for me, right now, to get Aqua. But I'll be right back!” Sora kissed her cheek and took off.

 

“Bring lots of towels!” Riku called after him.

 

“Riku, could you run the bath? I need to relax…” Kairi sighed, arms encircling her belly.

 

“Of course,” he replied, still pale as he rose to start the water. Until Aqua arrived and could check the baby’s vitals, he was going to stay nervous. Which he knew wasn’t the way to approach this but he couldn’t help it! It was at least three weeks early, and even though she was considered full term he couldn’t help but worry about the baby being premature. They weren't exactly anywhere near a hospital.

 

“You get in too.”

 

“What!?”

 

“You’re a bundle of nerves! I can see it from here,” Kairi said, grinning at her husband. “And I want you to hold me like you were going to in the ocean…”

 

“...Okay, come here.” His clothes were wet now, anyway. Riku stripped to his boxers and gave her a hand up. They stepped into the deep tub together.

 

“This is _not_ something I thought we were going to use this tub for,” Kairi said as she eased herself back against Riku's chest. His arms held her close, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She felt mildly on edge waiting for the next contraction, but having him close helped.

 

“Hey,” she asked, turning her head to try meet his eyes. “Before the labor gets worse, is it irresponsible to just… sneak home now?”

 

“I don't know,” he said, strong hands resting protectively over her belly. “We barely found any old reports of inter-world travel that mentioned pregnancy, and definitely nothing around doing it while in labor…”

 

“But I may not really be in labor yet! It could be hours or over a day before anything really starts happening.” Kairi sighed and sat up, knowing these questions were probably stressing Riku out. Before their conversation could continue, Sora reappeared with towels in hand.

 

“Hi, can she come in?” he asked, and Kairi nodded.

 

“Yes please.”

 

“Good morning,” Aqua said and padded over to them in her bathrobe. “Looks like there's been a change of plans.”

 

“Aquaaaaa..! Thanks for coming,” Kairi said and leaned back against Riku… who looked comically embarrassed to realize how intimate his state of undress was in front of their headmistress.

 

“Of course, don’t be silly,” Aqua replied. If seeing the two of them in the tub made her at all shy or uncomfortable, she didn’t show it. She knelt next to the pair and put her hand right on Kairi’s stomach, trying not to yawn as she used a spell to sense the baby’s vitals. “Very big, very, uh. Robust baby we have here.”

 

“Oh man,” Kairi bemoaned.

 

“Vitals are good. Slightly elevated heart rate in the baby, and they are positioned correctly. Head-down.” Aqua withdrew her hand and smiled to herself. She couldn't help but sense the baby’s sex too, but knew the parents wanted to wait and see for themselves.

 

“How elevated?” Riku asked, his worry eclipsing his embarrassment.

 

“Oh shit!!” Kairi repeated, hands gripping her stomach as another contraction shook through her. “I'm dying!!! Oh holy shit I'm dying ow ow OW!!!”

 

“Wait. When was her last contraction?” Aqua asked, looking to Riku.

 

“Only about three minutes ago…” Riku said over Kairi’s loud cries. “M-maybe less, I wasn't timing it exactly. Breathe, Kai. Breathe, you’re okay…”

 

“I AM NOT OKAY!!”

 

“That's way too quick for just going into labour,” Aqua said, rising from the floor. She looked concerned but calm, and turned to Sora. “I'm calling Disney Castle. We need a midwife, now.”

 

“I! WANT! TO HAVE THIS BABY! IN THE FUCKING OCEAN!!”

 

“Oh my god she's squeezing my fingers off,” Riku groaned, though made no move to remove his hand from Kairi's grip.

 

“Now sounds good,” Sora said, and Aqua smiled (a thinly veiled grimace) before hastily retreating from the bathroom. He knelt next to the tub and took up Kairi’s free hand, allowing her to squeeze as hard as she wanted as she cried and groaned through the contraction. “We’re right here,” he soothed. “The contraction will pass. Breathe, baby.”

 

Kairi wailed again, a truly pitiful sound that tugged at her husbands’ heartstrings. “Iiiiiiii can't do thi-hi-hiiiis,” she sobbed.

 

“You can. You can! Breathe, just like we practiced.”

 

“You’ve got this,” Riku joined, using his _not_ brutally traumatized hand to rub Kairi’s stomach. He was still worried about the baby’s elevated heart rate, as per his nature, and how quick Aqua was to call for assistance.

 

Kairi squirmed and moaned, as if she were trying to crawl out of her own skin to escape the pain. She was trying very hard not to worry, but that seemed impossible. The pain was more intense than she could have ever expected, but was that normal? She had been through her own share of relatively devastating injuries, and figured she could handle something so human as childbirth.

 

The contraction wasn’t letting up.

 

It was as if her insides were going through a meat grinder. She could hear Sora and Riku talking to her, voices pitching in worry as they then talked to each other. She couldn’t reply, she could only cry and try suck in air for what felt like eternity.

 

“Kairi. _Kairi.”_ Riku was repeating, his voice reverberating through her. It was then she realized she could feel something that was not pain, and she could breathe easier. The information was being picked up by her ears and actually turned into words that made sense.

 

“I’m okay,” she heard herself say, but the edges of her vision were still blurred. “I feel funny…”

 

“Like how? Funny how?” Riku pressed her, holding on to her hand.

 

“I think I can’t see everything. I feel charged but…” she attempted to report, wanting to comfort them but knowing she had to be honest. “Not normal.”

 

“She must be going into shock, like when you get an injury,” Sora said, mostly to Riku. Kairi thought that she’d not heard his voice pitched like that in years, the worry laced thickly in his tone.

 

“Stay awake Kairi,” Riku pleaded.

 

“Don’t worry…” she said.

 

“You weren’t responding just now,” he continued.

 

“The pain was just too much.”

 

“Riku, relax,” Sora suggested, coaxing Riku to lay back further and cradle Kairi with him. “The breathing thing. C’mon you two, just like we practiced.”

 

Still in a daze, Kairi did her best to match Riku’s shaky, paced breaths as they moved her up and down against his chest. Just as they seemed to get in sync, her heart rate jumped and the pain began again. Unable to help herself, she cried.

 

“Another one?!” Riku asked. Kairi didn’t answer directly, just squirmed and wailed.

 

“Breathe,” Sora tried again, but his face was stricken. The poor girl couldn’t even get a break, and he could not recall a time seeing her so distraught. “I’m so sorry, baby…”

 

“O-ohhhh!” Kairi cried out, feeling light shoot behind her tightly closed eyes. She _wanted_ to respond to him, but she was terribly distracted by the distinct and disgusting feeling of her pelvis moving. She was being pulled apart from the inside, and she suddenly released her husbands’ hands to feel what was going on down there for herself. It.. it honestly felt like the baby was pushing out… But that was impossible right? She couldn’t think clearly, but...

 

“The baby is coming,” she gritted out, somehow.

 

“What do you…” Sora replied. “Now? That can’t be…”

 

“ _Now_ ,” Kairi groaned, taking his hand and placing it below.

 

“Holy shit,” Sora whispered. He was no doctor but he was almost certain he felt the baby. “Kairi, _push!!_ ”

 

“What!?” Riku squeaked.

 

Their voices were sounding distant again.

 

“The baby is here! Now! Push, Kairi. Just a few more seconds.” Sora directed Riku to assist him in holding Kairi’s knees up and apart. “Breathe. Oh my god. Oh my god it’s happening you are so _amazing!”_

 

Kairi gulped air and shook, grunting with effort. Probably. She could only think about the splitting pain. Whatever else was happening, she was somewhat aware of her lovers’ commentary and charged exchanges, their pleas for her to stay awake. Even that seemed to fade soon enough, until all she was aware of was a very loud buzzing. At one point her fingers felt soft, foreign skin under the water. As if of their own accord, her hands gently assisted the extraction of a squirming, new life from her body. There was some release of tension as the baby left her, but she was only vaguely aware of it. It was so fast, and hurt more than anything she had ever imagined.  She was excruciatingly close to an out-of-body experience, but a few degrees wrong and stuck in a blinding fire of pain. For a long moment she wished to just pass out, until she heard a gentle cry.

 

Her eyes snapped open and she sucked in a breath, vision going from black to white, to a mix of the reds and purples and blues and dark, soft hair of the tiniest human she had ever seen. Their baby pinched it’s little face in a near-silent cry, writhing in Sora’s strong hands. He stared down at the sudden arrival with his mouth slack, blue eyes streaming.

 

“She’s beautiful,” Riku cried. He was clearly in shock, but then again they all were.

 

“Kairi, are you okay? Hold her,” Sora said, putting the little baby on her chest. Her shaky arms rose automatically to cradle the super tiny thing, gently and perfectly.

 

“Kairi? Hey, are you-?” Sora repeated.

 

“I don’t know,” she said softly. It was so painful, and she knew she wasn’t done yet, but… she wasn’t panicking. She felt overwhelmed but was somehow okay with it because this little pink baby was absolutely captivating. Love at first sight, she supposed. How cliche, but it was a powerful feeling. And then, she sobbed. She cried because it hurt, because it all felt so outside of her control. And because her daughter was _so beautiful,_ still covered in goopy blood and other junk, but amazing all the same.

 

“Kairi…” Sora said, his heart in this throat. He cupped Kairi’s face in his hand, and she leaned into it.

 

“I'm holding our baby,” Kairi said softly, between sniffles.

 

“I'm holding both of you,” Riku chimed in, his voice tight and stressed in the way it was when he was fighting the urge to cry. It was a losing battle, but he had an arm around Kairi, and another around her own as she cradled the newborn. “Are you in pain?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Sora, try a cure spell.”

 

Sora wiped his face against his shoulders, then exhaled purposefully and placed his hands on Kairi’s distended belly. A green glow illuminated the bathroom, casting ghoulish shadows in the bloody bath water. Kairi only felt a mild relief from the ache pulsing through her entire lower half.

 

“Well?”

 

Kairi shook her head. Then it occurred to her that their new arrival was being awfully quiet. She maneuvered the baby from laying prone on her chest, to face-up in her arms. The little thing raised one chubby arm upwards before retracting it to rub at her face.

 

“She's getting cold,” Kairi murmured.

 

“Let's drain the tub, wash her off with some fresh, warm water,” Riku suggested. He didn't exactly order Sora to do it, but he was a bit stuck at the moment and luckily his husband didn't hesitate to put the plan into action.

 

“I need to get the rest of this thing out of me first,” Kairi said as the tub drained. She was so beyond the point of embarrassment.

 

So a change of plans, as Sora took the baby into some fluffy, fresh, now stained forever towels, rubbing her to warm her up and cooing at her like a complete lovesick moron. After some really uncomfortable pushing and pulling, and blood, an alarming gush of it in all honesty, the rest of it was over. Kairi looked pale, and Riku was rubbing at her arms to keep her warm.

 

“Maybe we should just get you to bed,” he suggested.

 

And just as she agreed, because honestly she didn't even care at that point, Aqua knocked on the open door to announce her arrival. With her came a small, elderly woman - the same midwife Queen Minnie has sent many months ago.

 

“O-oh my goodness,” said Aqua, eyes moving from the bundle in Sora's arms and down the umbilical cord leading into the tub. She walked over to where he sat on the edge of the tub and peered down into the newborn’s face. She smiled and got a bit weepy, admittedly. She extended a hand to the new mother. “Oh Kairi, you did that far too quickly, we weren't here to help..!”

 

“It just happened,” Kairi said, taking the offered affection. “I'm in awful pain, I don't even think I can stand. I can barely _think.”_

 

“I've brought you something for that,” piped their visitor. “But first allow me to take care of the cord, and you rinse off, dear. Let's get everyone warm and dry and looked after.”

 

It was an amazing relief to allow someone else to call the shots just then. Kairi wondered more than once if she were in some sort of fever dream, seeing as the short, excruciating labour had been a nightmare and not at all like the books had led her to believe. Still, she managed to accept help without lashing out or even sounding frustrated, probably. She did groan rather loudly when the midwife casually informed her there had been “quite a bit of tearing” and she would likely be stuck in bed for a good week, and not allowed a normal bath for a few more weeks after that! Not to mention that when all was said and done, everyone was tidy, warm, changed, stitched up, etcetera, the midwife all but forced Kairi to try and feed the baby right then and there. And that hurt a hell of a lot more than she expected. Everything had. It wasn’t fair, and that’s all she could think about even as she was praised for doing a good job and getting the baby to latch right away. It took all of her remaining strength not to cry, and even then it was probably just the pain potion she had been given.

 

When finally, finally the midwife was escorted to a spare bedroom by Aqua, promising she’d be back the next morning to give Kairi and the baby one more look-over, Kairi felt as though she could relax. The sun was just about to rise, and the morning air was charged despite how much energy they had all spent in the past four or five hours. Kairi was propped up in the middle of the bed with their baby snoozing on her bare chest. Riku was curled up next to her, and Sora was fluffing a pillow before sticking it under her legs to prop them up as comfortably as possible. Despite all the medication the midwife had given her (why did it always have to be some nasty potion? Mages needed to get their shit in pill form, stat) she still felt an extremely uncomfortable ache where she supposed her vagina used to be. She had been instructed to look at it as little as possible.

 

“Need anything else?” Sora asked innocently, perched on the side of the bed but not allowing himself to lay down just yet. Even though he really, really wanted to.

 

“I’d like my body back,” Kairi replied sourly. “But I now know how very wrong I was to expect everything to bounce back into place after the baby came. You little troublemaker,” she said fondly at the sleeping babe. Riku snorted at that.

 

“Yyyeah I’ve got water and some melting ice which is basically also water, but I can be convinced to get you anything from the kitchen,” Sora replied, a tired grin gracing his face.

 

“I’m fine my love, thank you.” It even felt awful and weird to say that, because it wasn’t really the truth. But Sora couldn’t do anything about how angry she felt with her body.

 

“Okay then. I’ll just take her,” Sora said as he reached out to scoop their baby into his arms. He held her so gently, as if he’d been practicing forever. He kissed her face, even though it could wake her. He just couldn’t help it. She was so tiny and after a bath (which she had screamed all the way through) she smelled so good… “Oh my god I love her so much,” he said as he reluctantly placed her on a nice, soft cloth to swaddle her. “I loooove you, I love you little nugget,” he sang softly, a made up song that was sure to be a hit around their household in no time.

 

“You’re adorable,” Kairi reflected fondly. She yawned and stretched as much as she could, hoping she would find sleep quickly. The baby would probably wake in two hours for food, so she should sleep, she knew.

 

“Can we name her Nugget?” Sora asked.

 

“Less adorable,” Riku muttered.

 

“It’s better than not having a name at all,” Kairi mused, watching as Sora placed the baby on her back right next to Kairi. Of course their bassinet and crib was already all set up in their “vacation” home on the Islands, so they were going to have to fret through a night or more of co-sleeping in fear of squishing their new arrival. Nevermind the bed was huge and could comfortably sleep them all, no. The time of worrying about absolutely everything had arrived. “We can call her Nuggie or Lil’ Nug.”

 

“YES!”  


“Nooooo,” Riku protested, though he was grinning as well. “We’re not naming our baby Nugget or any of its incarnations.”

 

“Our baby,” Sora repeated, his whole body warming. He had placed some pillows around the sleeping babe to protect her, hopefully, before climbing in himself. Kairi immediately stuck a hand in his hair, as it was all she could reach with everything between them.

 

“I can’t believe she’s here,” Riku said, peeking over Kairi so he could watch the gentle rise and fall of the baby’s chest.

 

“She literally tore me a new one,” Kairi said, but it was hard to hear if there was any humor in her voice.

 

“You are truly the most amazing person I know,” Riku said, wrapping around her. Gently. “You’re strong and humble and you handled everything perfectly, all considered.”

 

Kairi felt something well up in her throat, and she quickly swallowed it down. She didn’t want to tell them that she didn’t feel like any of those things were true.

 

“Thank you,” she managed and leaned her face against Riku. “But I’m never, ever doing that again. Even though…” she looked down at their sleeping baby, still nameless and oblivious to the ruckus she had caused. “Even though I’m so glad she’s here now. I’m so happy she’s okay.”

 

“...But are you okay?” Sora asked. Ever sensitive and in-tune, despite his fatigue. And still, he knew the question was likely too vague or broad to really convey his concerns.

 

“Ask me in the morning,” said Kairi. She closed her eyes and sighed. Immediately she began to dream, too quick to wonder if her pain would prevent her from dozing off. Clearly her exhaustion was too encompassing to be ignored.

 

A few moments of silence graced the room. Sora looked up from where he had been unnecessarily fussing with the sleeping baby, and caught Riku’s stare waiting for him. Even though he looked absolutely beyond tired, it was easy to sense how his nerves irritated him.

 

“Sleep, Riiks. While you still can.”

 

“That was terrifying,” Riku whispered, hoping beyond hope that Kairi was deeply asleep. “I’m very worried about Kai, she didn’t seem…”

 

“Like herself,” Sora finished after Riku trailed off. “I know. What she just went through was traumatic, so. Babe.” He sat up so he could lean over to cup Riku’s pale face. It had traumatized them all,to varying degrees. “We’re right here with her. We’ll look out for her.”

 

“We were helpless just now,” Riku said, looking stricken. “She was going through hell and we couldn’t do a thing, so clearly we can’t look out for her all the time.”

 

“We were with her, weren’t we? You knows she’s strong.”

 

“The strongest…”

 

“That’s right. Let’s just keep our cool and support her, and each other. It’ll be okay.” Sora sounded so sure, so heartfelt that there was no way Riku couldn’t be comforted. A little.

 

“You’re the best dad,” Riku sighed.

 

“No, you.”

 

“You!” Riku said, maybe a bit too loudly. The baby stirred and grunted, but didn’t wake up. Luckily, neither did Kairi. “We should sleep…”

 

“Mhm. See you in approximately two to four hours,” Sora said with a grin, and hit the lights.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took a while, I've been pretty demotivated about this story. Hope you like it, tho!


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